Year Of The Wolf
by Doomer
Summary: Pre-ZA. When Kristina's bike breaks down right outside of the small little town on the side of the mountain, Daryl is the only one who can fix it. While he struggles with a drug addiction, Kristina struggles to prove to Daryl that he is better than this little hick town. When the Walkers start taking over Georgia, will Daryl be able to keep her safe? (Sex, drug use, language.)
1. Chapter 1

"Son of a bitch." I grumbled, kicking the shock absorber of my 1993 Harley Davidson all black cruiser. All black except for a thin silver outline of a black widow, with the red hour glass sitting in contrast against the black on her stomach. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked down the long winding road that lead into the next town, which is where I was headed. I still had about another 15 miles until I would have hit it but my bike just shut down.

My gas gage suddenly moved from full to empty within a matter of seconds and the bike sputtered to a stop on the side of the road. I growled as I walked around the bike, the tip of my thumb between my teeth as I looked over my prized possession.

I grabbed the pack of menthols from my backpack that sat on the seat of my bike and grabbed the lighter from the front pocket of my black leather jacket, lighting my smoke then throwing it to the side pocket of my backpack, along with my pack of cigarettes. I held the cigarette between my lips as I strapped my book bag to the back, tying it with an extension cable to keep it in place.

I tapped the front wheel of the bike with my toe of my boot gently, exhaling as I pulled the cigarette from between my lips. I flicked the cigarette into the road and grabbed the handle bars, kicking the kickstand back. I started pushing it forward.

I wanted to make it into town before dark. Never wanted to be stranded in the dark. And I hadn't had cell phone service for hours, no use even trying that.

I trucked on, up the winding, twisting road towards the town on the side of the mountain.

The sun had just started dipping down under the tree tops when I made it into town. The wind had picked up and it whipped my long, blonde, curly hair around my cheeks. I sighed as I pushed forward, my calves and feet were burning. The boots I had on were not make for walking and the muscles in my legs were screaming for me to stop, but I kept going.

I walked up towards a man next to a pick up truck, the tailgate down with the carcass of a muscular buck laying in the back. I smiled, stopping beside the truck.

"Nice looking buck." I complimented the mans game, nodding at him approvingly. He looked up at me, beaming with a toothy smile.

"I know. Been trackin' this big boy for almost two months. Finally got him!" He exclaimed happily.

"Congratulations!" I cheered. He smiled at me once again and then looked at my bike, the smile leaving his face.

"Break down?" He asked, looking at me as he slammed the tailgate of his truck up. I nodded and sighed loudly.

"Yep, broke down about fifteen miles down the hill." I explained, looking back down the road I had come from. The man shook his head and whistled.

"Damn girl." He chuckled. "I'd offer ya a ride up t'the garage but as ya can see I ain't got no room back there." He pointed to the bed of his pick up truck. I waved my hand and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it." I sighed, "How far is it to the garage?" I asked, looking further down the road into town. The man sat there, rubbing his chin for a moment before he nodded.

"'Bout a quarter mile up this road. Take a left on Fairmount and then it's another half mile. Someone should be there." He looked at his watch and nodded again.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed, pushing my bike forward again.

"If ya hurry ya can get there 'fore it gets to dark!" The man called out as I made my way forward. I waved back at him and then grabbed the handlebar again.

I stopped half way down the road and lit another cigarette, holding it between my lips as I pushed my bike forward, really wanting to get to the garage before it got to dark. I still needed to get a hold of my Aunt Judy-Mae, hopefully the garage had a phone I could use. Otherwise I was stranded until tomorrow morning when I could walk or hitch a ride with someone to her house.

I had spent so many summers in these mountains growing up. Every summer, the day after school let out, I was on my way up to this tiny little town to spend the summer with my cousins. Since Uncle Ray had passed, Aunt J hadn't really been the same, and she was lonely since the kids had moved down into the big city of Atlanta. I called her a couple weeks ago and asked her how she was, and she said she was fine, but she sure as hell didn't sound okay.

I decided to spend a week up here in the mountains, like old times. Aunt Judy-Mae and I. And the animals of course. She had so damn many, too. Dogs, cats, birds, horses; you name it, she had it. She told me she was having a hard time taking care of all the stable animals all on her own, so I offered to come up and help.

I pushed my bike up the drive way of the tiny car and bike garage, the neon 'OPEN' sign buzzed loudly, flickering on and off every couple seconds. Giant summer June bugs flew around the sign, and the light that hung above the door into the business part of the shop.

I pushed the kickstand down on my bike and brushed my hair out of my face as I walked towards the door into the shop. A little bell on the door jingled softly and I stepped in slowly, looking around for any sign of life.

Nobody.

I walked up to the counter and rested my elbows on the dirty, hardwood.

"Hello!" I called out in a sing-song voice, "Anyone here?" After a moment of silence, I walked towards the door that lead into the employee break room and peeked in through the little glass window.

Empty.

"Shit." I grumbled to myself, walking back towards the counter where the cash register sat. I closed my eyes and pressed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets, groaning loudly.

"Can I help you?" A deep voice asked from behind me. I spun around, tearing my hands away from my face to be met by a tall, brown-haired man wearing a dark blue mechanics jumpsuit, wiping his hands with a grease covered rag.

"You scared the shit out of me." I breathed loudly, wiping my brow with the back of my hand as I smile at him. The jumpsuit he was wearing had the name Daryl embroidered right above his left pectoral, and he was looking at me like I was a piece of meat. He sniffled quietly, wiping the pad of his thumb across his nose gently. I looked him up and down at honestly, I was unimpressed. Slim build, little meat on him. I wrinkled my nose at him as I met his eyes again.

"Sorry." He growled softly, pushing the corner of the rag into his pocket, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at me. "S'yer bike out there?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at my bike outside. I nodded and walked towards the door.

Daryl stepped aside and let me walk out the door first, following close behind me as I made my way towards the motorcycle. I knelt down next to the gas can and ran my finger along it.

"Just shut down. I filled her up with gas and then all of a sudden, my gas tank is empty and I can't even get her to turn on." I explained, shrugging my shoulders. Daryl shook his head and knelt down next to me, running his fingers along the gas tank, squinting in the darkness, trying to make out what was wrong with my bike.

"Sounds like a problem with yer 'O' ring." He explained, looking over at me as I tried to see what he was looking at. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I dunno, I couldn't tell ya much about it. I like to ride it, couldn't fix it to save my life." I smirked. Daryl chuckled softly and shook his head, standing up. I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh!" I exclaimed, "You gotta phone I could use?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Daryl shook his head and gave me an apologetic look.

"Been outta service since I started workin' here." He explained, gesturing towards the payphone at the far end of the garage. I groaned loudly.

"What about a personal phone?" I asked. He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest once again. I whined and ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Try'na get somewhere?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow up. I nodded and pointed down Fairmont towards the main road that ran through the entire town.

"Trying to get to get to Basom Lane." I explained, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. Daryl nodded at me, pulling the rag from his pocket and began wiping his hands again. I eyed him suspiciously, while he ran the cloth back and forth over his hands. His eyes darting from my bike then to me.

"I'll give ya a ride, I'm closin' up shop fer t'night anyway." He explained, tossing the cloth over his shoulder, wiping at his nostril roughly, sniffing repeatedly over and over again. I walked behind him as he pushed my bike into the garage, looking at him with judgmental eyes.

My father had been involved with drugs all his life. Ever since I was a little kid, the sniffing is what drove me crazy the most. Sniffing. Sniffing. Trying to clean your nostril of whatever fucked up drug you just snorted. Snorting. Over and over and over again. I started to grind my teeth as Daryl sniffed his nostril clean.

"So, how long is it gonna take to fix?" I asked, the annoyance in my voice clear as he pushed the kickstand of my bike down, carefully leaning it to the side and held it until it balanced on it's own.

"I dunno what's wrong with it yet." He chuckled, looking at me over his shoulder. "If ya stop by t'morrow, I can tell ya how long it's gon' take t'fix." He explained, turning around to face me, his pupils were dilated to as big as they could get. He looked high. He was high. I wrinkled my nose again and gave him an obxious look of distaste as he lead me outside.

He didn't seem to notice, and if he did notice, he clearly didn't care. He lit a cigarette as he locked the doors to the shop. He turned the lights off and motioned me to follow him to the blue and white pick up truck parked at the end of the drive way.

"Ya said Basom Lane, right?" He asked. I nodded and opened the passenger side door. As the door swung open, a little orange prescription pill bottle fell to the ground. I bent down and grabbed it, reading the label quickly.

"Here." I tossed the bottle to Daryl, giving him a sideways glance. He caught it, bringing it in close to his chest before he realized what it was. He looked at me nervously, climbing into the truck as I buckled my seat belt. "Thought your name was Daryl." I motioned to the patch sewn into his jumpsuit. He nodded and raised an eyebrow at me. I then pointed to the pill bottle, cocking my head to the side. "That's prescribed to a Merle Dixon." I said, trying not to grind my teeth, "Ya should tell your pharmacy they fucked up your perception." I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit it, rolling the window down.

"Maybe you should mind yer own fuckin' business." He snapped, glaring at me. I smirked and shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe." I flicked my ash out the window as he backed out of his parking spot. "Maybe you shouldn't be takin' pills that aren't for you." I looked over at him, giving him a half hearted smile, leaning my head back on the seat.

He slammed on the breaks, causing me to slam back into my seat. I glared over at him and he narrowed his eyes on me.

"Better watch yer mouth, Sunshine, or I'ma make ya fuckin' walk." He hissed, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

I shook my head and inhaled my cigarette slowly, closing my eyes as I turned my head away from him, and looked out the window instead. Daryl slowly back out of the drive way, speeding up as he hit Fairmount. He turned right onto the main road and kept even with the speed limit.

We didn't speak the entire way to my aunts house, except for when I told him where she lived. As we pulled into Aunt J's driveway, he looked over at me.

"Sorry fer snappin' at ya." He said softly, not meeting my eyes but instead looking just above them at my forehead. I shrugged and shook my head.

"Don't expect much more." I said, opening the door to his truck and jumping out.

"Stop by the shop t'morrow. I'll give ya an estimate on yer bike." He mumbled quietly. I nodded and shut the door. I looked over my shoulder as he back out of the drive way and took off down the street, up further into the hills.

I slowly made my way up the long drive way to Aunt J's house. It was around nine thirty and all the lights in the house were on. I shook my head, a smirk creeping onto my face as I knocked on the door.

"S'open!" Her voice called out through the partially open door. I flung the screen door open and stepped inside.

"Aunt Judy-Mae!" I exclaimed excitedly, making my way into the living room, the sound of her TV filling the hallway as I rushed in.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I looked Aunt J over, her hair was thinning out dramatically and she had lost so much weight she looked like a skeleton. "Aunt J." I whispered, walking towards her, dropping to my knees when she looked up at me.

"Hey sweetheart." She smiled sweetly at me. I shook my head and grabbed her hand that was resting on the arm of her chair.

"Aunt Judy, what happened?" I asked. She was pale, like all the blood had drained from her body. Her eyes were sunken with dark, brown bags underneath. Her once plump and happy face was now hollow looking, her cheek bones stuck defiantly. I almost had to look away, the sight of her like this was making me sick.

She had once been a happy, healthy woman, who loved to cook and take care of her kids and her animals. She was the friendliest person in this whole town, baking cakes and other goodies for the kids school bake sales, always attended church on Sunday. I looked around the living room and shook my head. It was littered with news papers and empty prescription bottles.

"Aunt J, what's wrong?" I asked, picking up reading the label. "What's rocephin for?" I asked, looking up at her.

"It's for my pneumonia." She explained, bringing the hand I wasn't holding to her mouth as she started coughing. It sounded awful. Wet and painful. I shook my head as tears filled my eyes.

"Judy-Mae, why the hell aren't you in the hospital!?" I asked, giving her a look of utter bewilderment.

"Hospitals ain't my thing." She waved her hand at me, like it wasn't a big deal she looked and sounded the way she did.

"Aunt J, you gotta go to the hospital. Please, let me take you tonight." I pleaded with her, gripping her hand tightly in both of mine. "Aunt J, please." I couldn't help but start crying. "You're not okay, you say you are and you act like you are but fuck, Aunt Judy-Mae, you're sick." I choked out through sobs.

Aunt J looked down at me and placed her free hand on top of mine. "I'm tellin' ya, I'm fine. But if it'll make ya feel better, fine. We can go to the damn hospital." She grumbled. I wiped the tears streaming down my face.

"C'mon, we're going right now." I stood up and helped her out of her chair.

"My keys are on the kitchen table." She wheezed, falling into another coughing fit as I ran into the kitchen, grabbing the keys to her 1983 Dodge Challenger.

I grabbed her jacket that was slung over the back of a chair and ran back to her. Suddenly, I realized that I had left my backpack strapped to the back of my bike.

"Sonofabitch!" I exclaimed as I helped her into her jacket.

Her little frame was lost in the size of what used to be her favorite work coat. It swallowed her up as I zipped it for her.

"What's wrong, babe?" She asked, looking up at me with curious eyes. I shook my head and let her grab the crook of my arm to steady herself as we made our way outside.

"Nothin', Aunt J. Don't worry about it." I mumbled, mostly to myself. I was more concerned with getting her to the hospital. I needed to know she could be fixed. That they could make her okay again.

She had been like a mother to me when my mother wasn't around. My mom had been in and out of jail since I was five for selling drugs. When she was in jail, my dad 'took care' of me but that wasn't really parenting. I taught myself how to get home from school when he forgot to pick me up. I learned how to cook for myself because I knew he wouldn't do it for me. Aunt J was the only person who let me be a kid. When I was here, I was free to run around and play. Not a care in the world. Even if it was for a few short months.

I ran around to the passenger door and opened it for her, helping her get in before shutting the door and running to the drivers side.

I haven't ever driven so fast in my entire life.

The doctor pulled the door open to Aunt Judy-Mae's room and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He turned around and looked at me, rubbing his forehead with his index finger as he walked towards me. I was leaning against the opposite wall, hands behind my back. I looked at him with concerned eyes and pushed myself forward.

"It's looking a more drastic than when she came in last time." The doctor explained to me. "Last time she came in it was just pneumonia, but now it's looking a lot worse. Her weight loss could be a result of the pneumonia may have spread into an infection and made it hard for her to eat." I crossed my arms over my chest and pursed my lips together tightly. "We're going to run some tests on her but we want her to stay here until we can diagnose her."

"Is she gonna be okay?" I asked. That's all I really cared about. The doctor gave me a sympathetic look, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not sure yet." He said softly. "We'll tell you as soon as we know." He added, nodding in reassurance. I nodded softly and sighed.

"Can I see her?" I asked, feeling the lump in my throat growing. I looked up at him through my eyelashes and held back tears. He nodded and gently grabbed my shoulder, leading me into Aunt J's room.

I walked in and they had her hooked up to an IV. I held my hand over my mouth when I saw how little she had actually become. The once healthy looking stomach was now non-existent. Her arms were so frail and stick thin.

I walked towards her and she smiled sweetly at me, an oxygen tube wrapped around her ears and under her nose.

"Hi, honey." She said softly, her voice a little hoarse. I smiled at her and sat in the chair that was beside her bed and took her hand in mine.

"Hi, Aunt J." I whispered softly. She gently placed her free hand on the top of mine and wrapped her fingers under my palm. She squeezed my hand for a moment and made me look up at her.

"I'm sorry ya had ta bring me here." She whispered, eyeing the doctor who was standing at the door. I looked behind me and smiled at him softly.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." I whispered back. "Why did you let it get so bad, Aunt J?" I questioned, shaking my head as I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it gently. Her skin was so cold against my flesh. I rested my head on her wrist and closed my eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"I ain't wanna be a bother t'no one." She explained quietly, now moving her hand to the top of my head, gently smoothing down the wild curls of my hair. "Don't cry, baby girl, everything's gon' be just fine."

I had driven home that night after the doctor told me visiting hours started at ten, and that I could come back in the morning. The drive seemed so much longer in the car. I didn't wanna go back to that empty house. I didn't want to sit there alone. I wanted to be with Aunt J.

I pulled into the drive way, parked the car and turned it off. I sat there for a moment, holding her keys in my hand. I was tempted to drive up and down the street, to scope out Daryl's pick up truck. I wondered what he was doing.

Probably getting high.

What a cop out. Is life really that hard for you? I've been through some shit and have never needed something to get by. Why was it so hard for everyone else?

I decided it was a bad idea. I was confrontational and wanted to start a fight. That's what I really wanted to do. I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to hurt my cousins for not checking on their mother. I wanted to hurt my mother for never being around. Never being there for me. If she had been around, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be so upset about this. I wanted to hurt Daryl for needing such a crutch to deal with life.

I just wanted to scream. I slammed the door to the house shut and ran up to the second floor, not even bothering to turn the TV off. Instead I went right to the guest bedroom, relieved that it was untouched by the garbage that had taken over the first floor.

I stripped off my leather jacket and tossed it on the floor. My jeans shortly followed and I crawled into the large, queen sized bed.

I closed my eyes and tried not to picture Aunt J laying in that hospital bed. Instead I tried to picture my bike. My bike on the open road and how the wind feels in my hair. I couldn't think of a better feeling and I could slowly feel the stress in my body slipping away.

I rubbed my eyes sleepily and turned onto my side, looking at the clock on the bedside table.

Two-thirty.

I'd be able to get a couple hours of sleep, hopefully I could get a good nights rest after the events of today. I'd go to the shop after I left the hospital. I wanted to bring Aunt J some magazines and some clothes to wear so she didn't have to wear that hospital gown.

I slowly drifted off into a restless sleep, dreaming of riding my bike down through the mountain. The wind in my hair, and the asphalt under the tires. Something about riding that bike put me to ease.


	2. Chapter 2

"We're running out of tests, Miss. Jameson." Dr. Curry explained to me. He had told Aunt J earlier, and I had been there but fuck, I just couldn't believe him. I didn't want to believe him. "But like I told you and your Aunt earlier, we did find something on the last x-ray. We're planning on doing a biopsy tomorrow morning, as soon as we can." He half glared, half looked at me with apathetic eyes; I hadn't really made the last week easy at all on the guy.

All week when I was at the hospital, all I did was ask what was wrong, when were they gonna do another test, what did they find, why weren't they taking care of her properly? I had grown to be an annoyance, to not just the doctors, but to the nurses as well.

And to top it all off, my bike wouldn't be getting fixed for a couple weeks.

_"How much?" I asked, running one hand through my hair, the other hand gripped the edge of the wooden counter so hard my knuckles turned white. _

_"Well, fer the new 'o' ring, plus the new gas tank, and then the new fuel lines I'ma need t'fix yer bike, it's gon' run ya 'bout fifteen hundred." I gawked at Daryl. He stood behind the counter, clicking away at the computer that sat next to the cash register. _

_I ran my hands down my face in exasperation. I groaned and slowly placed my hands on the counter, looking at him through my eyelashes as I pressed my lips together. "I don't have that kind of money." I said as softly as possible. I could barely think straight, let alone try to keep my anger controlled in my situation. _

_Daryl shrugged his shoulders, his finger still clicking away at the computer mouse. I leaned into the counter and arched my back, feeling my vertebrae snap and pop back into alignment. "I'll cut a deal wit'chya." Daryl mumbled after a minute of clicking his mouse. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow._

_"And what would that deal be?" I asked, slightly curious as to what I was going to have to do to get my bike fixed. Daryl crossed his arms, rubbing his thumb against his upper arm, leaning against the wall behind him. _

_"How much money ya got?" He asked, nodding at the bag sitting on the counter. I shrugged and grabbed the bag, rummaging through it to find my wallet. I grabbed the black leather wallet and opened it, counting through the cash I had on me. _

_"Um… about four hundred." I sighed, feeling defeated. That wouldn't ever be enough to cover what was needed for my bike. I threw the money down on the counter and looked up at him, shrugging. "That's all I got." Daryl scooped up the money and counted it slowly, moving his eyes from me to the money as he counted it. _

_Finally, once he was done, he slipped the wad of twenties into his pocket and moved towards the counter again, sliding his hands across the wood, looking over the counter at me, a small smirk on his face._

_"I'll cover the rest of yer bill if ya go on a date wit' me t'night." He growled, his eyes narrowed in on mine. I could barely move. His stare had me immobilized, almost unable to breath under the intense stare he had on me. _

_"W-when?" I managed to spit out, he grinned at me and leaned forward, over the counter, closer towards me. _

_"Tonight." His breath danced across my chest as he exhaled through his nose. I stepped back and shook my head. _

_"I can't tonight." I said, holding my hand up. Daryl grunted, shoving his hands in his pockets. _

_"Why not?" He asked, leaning back against the wall again._

_I smirked at him, looking at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Cause… You won't be sober by tonight." _

_Daryl's eyes grew wide as I took another step closer to the counter, feeling my playful side growing by the minute. _

_"I'll only go on a date with you if you're sober." I nodded, standing in front of the counter with my head held high. I watched as Daryl began to fidget with the greasy rag that sat on the counter. His rough, calloused fingers picked and tugged at the corner of the rag. _

_"How'd you know?" He asked softly. I smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, shaking my head._

_"Kinda easy to spot when you grew up around it." I shrugged, clenching my fists tightly in the crook of my elbows. "But, I mean it. I won't go out with you unless your sober. I'll just sell my bike." I gave him a serious look, furrowing my eyebrows. "You can pick me up Thursday night around 8." I nodded at him._

_"A-alright." Daryl looked like he didn't know what to do. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest, nodding at me nervously. "I'll be there at 8." I grabbed my bag off the counter, pulling it over my shoulder, and started walking backwards towards the door._

_"Daryl, you better show me a good time. I need a little stress relief." I smirked at him. _

_"Oh, I'ma show you a good time, believe that." He mumbled, smirking back at me. I pushed my back against the door and rolled out of the shop, throwing my hand up and giving a small wave without looking back._

_I slowly made my way to the car, enjoying the nice weather of the early evening. I couldn't believe I had actually agreed to go out with Daryl, sober or not. He really wasn't the kind of guy I wanted to get involved in. He obviously has his own problems to worry about._

_I needed something stable. Something I could rely on and Daryl didn't seem very reliable. Drug addicts aren't very reliable people after all._

"Okay, Aunt J, I'm leaving." I whispered. She had her eyes closed. She looked so weak, it broke my heart to see her looking so fragile. Her skin was cold in mine as I rubbed my thumb along the back of her hand.

"Get some rest, dear." She whispered softly without opening her eyes. I smiled and stood up. I leaned over her and kissed her forehead gently. "I love you, angel." She whispered up to me.

"I love you too, Aunt J." I kissed her forehead again before standing up straight again. I pulled my jacket on and grabbed the keys off the table beside the bed.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning."

* * *

I threw on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white tank top. I looked at myself in the full length mirror and sighed. My long curly hair hung down to the middle of my back. I pulled it forward, over my shoulders and let it hang. I sighed again and shook my hair.

I wasn't really sure where Daryl would be taking me, I mean, it took five minutes to drive through this town, and there really wasn't much to see around here. The big joke of the town is, when you're driving through it, don't blink or you'll miss it.

I grabbed my pair of black biker boots and brought them into the living room. I had cleaned up for Aunt Judy-Mae and didn't really mind being here by myself anymore. The first couple days were the hardest, cleaning up all the garbage kinda made it feel like a home again.

The animals were in bad shape too. Most of her dogs had died of old age. And all the stable animals had started grazing in the big, open field in her back yard. It took me six hours to round up all her horses and cows and get them back into the barn the second night I had been here.

I sat down in the big recliner and shoved my feet into my boots, grumbling as I pulled the laces tight. It was already five past eight. I really should have known better. Drug addicts never really were good at being on time. You were lucky if they ever showed up at all.

I grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the table next to the recliner and lit it. I inhaled it slowly and sat back, closing my eyes.

If Daryl did show up tonight, I planned on having fun. At this point, he could show up higher than a kite and I'd still probably go out with him, just because my body was starting to protest the early mornings and late nights. I haven't had a decent meal since I had arrived. I was sort of hoping Daryl was going to take me out somewhere nice, but again, where would we go?

The nicest restaurant in this town was a family owned diner that held twenty customers at a time. And they closed at six.

I heard the roar of a motorcycle outside and put my cigarette out in the ashtray that sat on the side table. I stood up and grabbed my leather jacket.

I patted my front pocket and made sure I had an extra pack of cigarettes and nodded, grabbing the keys off the hook just inside the front door as I made my way outside.

Daryl stood there, next to a modified Harley Davidson Sportster. I smirked and shook my head, quite impressed at his taste in motorcycles.

"Nice bike." I grinned, meeting him halfway down the walkway to the front door. "I thought for sure you'd be picking me up in that god forsaken pick up truck." I winked at him. He didn't smile back, he just stepped aside and waited for me to fall in pace in front of him, his lower hand gently grazing the small of my back. I looked over at him as he began walking beside me. He looked different. He looked older.

The lines in his face seemed so more defiant. His brow wrinkled when he noticed me looking at him and pressed on my lower back harder with the palm of his hand.

"Hope yer ready t'get drunk t'night." He murmured. I smirked and nodded, watching him throw his leg over the bike. He looked back at me and motioned for me to get on. I placed one hand on his side, gripping the arm hole of his leather vest tightly as I threw my leg over the side and placed my ass comfortably on the passenger seat behind Daryl.

"Ready?" I asked, leaning forward against him. He nodded. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laced my fingers together. "Let's go get fucked up." I whispered in his ear. I could feel his body tense against mine, his back pressed hard against my chest.

He started the bike and moved it back, turning it around in the long driveway of Aunt J's house. I pulled my knees up and hooked the heels of my boots into the foot pegs on either side of the bike.

I enjoyed the feeling of wind in my hair, holding on tight to Daryl as he sped down the main road. It wasn't long before we were parked outside of an old building, two stories tall with a neon sign that buzzed loudly, just like the one outside the garage.

The Watering Hole

"Classy." I winked, pushing my elbow into Daryl's ribs as we made our way inside. I could already hear ZZ Top's La Grange playing from inside. Daryl pushed the door open roughly with both hands and walked in first, holding the door open as I slowly stepped inside.

For a little dive bar in the middle of no where, this place was packed. I could barely move forward as Daryl grabbed my wrist and pulled me in front of him.

"Keep movin', don' stop fer nothin'." He whispered in my ear. I nodded and made my way towards the bar.

Once at the bar, I pressed my hips into the wood of the counter and looked down the bar of the bartender. I felt Daryl behind me, his body pressed tightly against mine. I blushed and felt him press his hips against mine, whether it was on purpose or an accident, I'll never know, but I'm going to just go with an accident.

"What'tya want?" He asked, leaning over me from behind. He placed his hands on either side of the bar around my shoulders. I leaned into his smooth voice in my ear and almost got lost in his smell. He smelled good. Like cigarettes, weed and motor oil.

"Beer and whiskey." I leaned back against him and had to almost shout in his ear. The music was so loud I could barely hear myself think, but I could tell tonight was going to be a good night.

I turned around in Daryl's arms and looked at the rest of the bar. An area had been cleared of tables and there were a group of girls dancing to the music blasting from the jukebox in the corner. I smirked and looked up at Daryl. His eyes met mine and I batted my eyelashes playfully at him.

I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and gently pulled him towards me. "Thanks for bringing me out." He nodded and pulled his head back away from mine and looked down at me, a small smile turning the corners of his mouth up.

Daryl reached over my shoulder and handed me a shot glass filled with whiskey and a beer bottle. I held my shot glass up to his and nodded.

"To good times?" I asked. He nodded and pushed his shot glass against mine gently before bringing it to his lips. He tossed his head back and swallowed the shot in one fluid movement. I smiled and did the same, wincing as the liquid burned my throat on the way down.

"Ya good at holdin' yer booze?" Daryl asked as he ordered another shot of whiskey for the both of us. I couldn't help but smile and slap a hand over my forehead.

"Not really, but I sure as hell like to drink like I can!" I shouted as the music on the jukebox played. Daryl laughed and held the shot glass out for me. Daryl shook his head and pushed the shot glass against my lip, causing me to push my head backwards. I opened my mouth and swallowed the shot as it fell into my throat.

I wiped my mouth and looked at Daryl knowingly. I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his ear.

"Behaving like that is what's gonna get ya in trouble." I teased, sipping my beer. Daryl laughed again and leaned forward, moving his face close to my ear.

"Gon' give me a spankin'?" He asked. I swatted at his shoulder and pointed at him. I mouthed 'you're bad' and shook my head. He nodded and took a long pull from his beer.

The night went on like that for a couple hours. I was drunk and so was Daryl. We were standing in the much less crowded back room, where all the pool tables were, drinking another beer when AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long came on through the speakers.

I audibly gasped and slammed my beer bottle down on the nearest pool table and made my way over to Daryl.

"This is my favorite song!" I squealed excitedly. I slowly began moving my hips back and forth with the beat of the song and gave Daryl my best drunk seductive look.

I moved my hands up and gripped the collar of Daryl's shirt and pulled him close.

"You! Shook me aaaallllll niiiiiiight loooooong!" I sang with the song blasting through the speakers. Daryl smirked and took another swig from his beer, placing his left hand on my waist. I smirked as his warm fingers met the cool, clammy skin of my exposed midsection. My shirt had ridden up a little during the night, but damn it was so fuckin' hot I didn't even care. I just wanted Daryl. He was cute when he wasn't as high as he could be. We were both having so much fun. I could see it in his eyes.

"Daryl!" A voice boomed through the back room. I spun around to see an older man with a long white beard and a bandana wrapped around his head. "Haven't seen ya 'round here in a while." The man exclaimed as he made our way towards us.

"Nah, been trynna stay outta trouble while Merle's gone." Daryl gently pushed me off of him and stepped in front of me. "Ain't long 'till he's back though." He added.

"How much longer 'till ol' Merle is outta prison?" The man asked. I peeked out over Daryl's shoulders and met the tall mans eyes. "Well who is this pretty little thing?" the man asked, pushing Daryl out of the way easily.

"I'm Kristina." I said in a know it all tone, holding my hand out for the man.

"Names Mickey." The man shook my hand, which shook my entire body along with it. I smiled sweetly up at Mickey and took another sip from my beer.

"Daryl, you sure do know how to pick'em." Mickey looked over at Daryl, who was glaring at Mickey from the side of the pool table.

"Sure does!" I exclaimed before Daryl could say anything. Mickey laughed and gently patted my shoulder. I beamed at him and leaned against the pool table.

"So, how long 'till Merle is out?" Mickey asked Daryl again.

"'Bout 'nother four weeks." Daryl growled lowly. He set his empty beer bottle on the table behind him and tossed me a five. "Go get us 'nother beer." He motioned for me to go to the bar. I nodded and grabbed the five off the pool table and made my way to the front room where the bar is.

"Two more?" The bartender asked when she saw me step forward. I nodded. It wasn't the first time Daryl had sent me to get us more beer. She remembered what kind we were drinking and when I handed her the money she waved her hand away. "S'been paid for already." She explained, handing me the drinks.

"What? Why!?" I had more than enough alcohol in one night and was starting to act belligerent. The bartender raised an eyebrow at me curiously.

"Um, maybe because girls with tits like yours don't ever pay for drinks in a bar like this?" She shook her head and turned around, going back to cleaning. I felt someone behind me and turned around.

The stranger standing behind me entrapped me in his arms, placing both hands on either side of my body.

"Yer welcome fer the beers." He growled at me.

"Thank you, but no thank you." I grabbed both bottles in one hand and gave him the five dollar bill. "I'm not interested." I slurred, trying to move from between his arms.

"Ain't ever heard of a thing called Southern hospitality?" He asked, moving his face only inches from mine. I pulled back and shoved his face with the palm of my hand.

"Back the fuck up outta my area." I shouted over the music, using the bar as leverage to push him further away from me. He quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand down to his stomach and twisted it roughly. I bent my arm back to try and ease the pain of the sudden motion but whimpered pathetically anyway.

"Girl, don' make me hav'ta teach ya a lesson on how t'respect a man." The stranger growled in my ear. I tried freeing my wrist from his grasp but he held tight and twisted it further. I bent my knees and dropped the beer bottles on the floor, causing them to shatter and beer to explode everywhere.

All the commotion had caused a ring of people to form, some of them tried to move in on the man who had me by my wrist but the mans friends stopped them from getting through. The man smirked at me evilly and twisted my wrist further. Finally, I dropped to my knees and let out a defeated grunt as the my kneecaps connected with the floor roughly.

"Who th'fuck d'ya think ya are?" I heard Daryl's voice from behind me and closed my eyes. I felt the man's hand release my wrist as the sound of skin smacking skin filled the room. I looked up and saw Daryl standing over me, his hand wrapped tightly in the mans hair, and his other hand viciously slamming into the strangers face.

"Daryl!" I shouted, throwing my hands up against his forearms. I gripped them tightly, pulling them down towards my body. "Stop!" I screamed this time, making him look down at me. "Stop. Let's go." I narrowed my eyes on his, to show him I meant business.

Daryl grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me through the ring of people and out the front door. He grabbed for the keys in the front pocket of his jeans and headed for his bike. I stopped him and grabbed the keys from his hand.

"No! You can't drive like this! You're drunk." I was drunk too. We were stranded and it probably wouldn't be long before the stranger and his friends came looking for us outside. I looked around the parking lot and sighed.

"How the fuck are we gon' get home then?" Daryl grumbled, running his hands through his hair slowly, pulling a cigarette from the pack that sat in the front pocket of his black t-shirt. I shrugged and looked back at him over my shoulder.

"Didn't think this over very well, did we?" I asked, a playful smile on my face. Daryl shook his head and smirked, kicking his feet at the ground softly.

"You two need a ride?" A familiar voice called out from across the parking lot. I looked around and saw Mickey, the man from the pool room standing at a in front of a pick up truck. I waved my hands over and nodded.

"Yes please!" I called back, walking backwards towards Daryl.

I looked back at him as his hands snaked around my waist. "I'm sorry ya had t'see that." He mumbled into my hair. I smiled and shook my head, placing my hands on top of his, enjoying the feeling of him pressed against me like this.

His hand gripped my waist tightly and spun me around in his arms so I was facing him. "I had a good time." I said truthfully, looking up into his ocean blue eyes. I loved the way they sparkled in the moonlight of this rural area. He smiled down at me, removing the cigarette that dangled between his lips.

"Come back to my house." He whispered, letting the smoke billow from between his lips as he spoke. I had heard what he said, I didn't really process them until I was nodding, hooking my fingers in his belt loops, pulling him closer to me.

"I'm gon' ride you like the cowgirl I am, boy." I teased.

* * *

The cool wall of Daryl's bedroom felt so good against my back. I watched as he tossed my tank-top across the room. He looked at me like I was prey and he was a hungry animal. It drove me wild. I ran my fingers through my hair and bit my lip, looking him up and down. He had on a white wife beater and his boxers. I wanted to taste every inch of him.

He moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, moving them up my back slowly as he pressed himself into me harder. I smirked and tossed my hair to one side and leaned up, kissing and sucking gently on his neck while I slide my hands down between our bodies to his growing erection.

I felt his body tense up against me as I wrapped my hands around his shaft through his boxers, and started to stroke him. He groaned softly in my ear as I kissed my way down his jaw and under his chin, finally finding his lips as his fingers found my bra clasp.

I smirked against his mouth as he unhooked it skillfully and slid the straps down my shoulders and the delicate lace undergarment fall to the floor at our feet.

I moved one hand up and down on his erection, then slid my hand up to the hem of his undershirt and started lifting it up his stomach.

He pulled back, making him slip from my hand. He stood there and looked at me like a deer in headlights. Big blue doe eyes, just staring at me as I stood there, almost naked in front of him.

"I… I have… I'll be right back." He mumbled, darting out of the room, leaving me all alone.

I wrapped my arm around my chest and made my way to his mattress that sat on the floor. I grabbed the sheet that covered his bare mattress and wrapped it around myself in some sort of make shift toga.

I slowly made my way out into the hallway, instantly seeing the light streaking from under the next door over. I stood in front of it and tapped gently with my fingernail.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, feeling rather embarrassed that he had just left me like that. It made me wonder if I had done something wrong.

"N-no. I'm just not feelin' well." He said through the door. I sighed and nodded.

"Okay. If you need anything let me know." I slowly made my way back towards his bed and sat down, holding my forehead in the palm of both hands, eyes closed tight.

It was about twenty minutes before I heard the door open and close. I looked up and saw Daryl leaning against the wall in front of his bed.

"Feel better?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in concern. He nodded and dropped to his knees on the mattress, crawling towards me slowly.

I smirked and lay on my back, slowly pulling the corner of the sheet free and let it fall open, exposing myself to him once again as he crawl on top of me.

He kissed his way up my stomach, slow, soft kisses, peppered softly over my flesh as one hand crept up my side, slowly moving towards my breast. His hand cupped it gently as his kisses moved up my ribcage. I smiled and ran my hands through his hair, watching as he kissed around my nipple before slowly wrapping his lips around it.

I let out a soft moan as his tongue circled the hardening nub. I gripped his hair tightly and suddenly, his actions became much more violent. His fingers pinched and pulled at my nipples roughly with no warning, making a small whimper escape my mouth. I looked up and saw his teeth scrape against my nipple which sent shivers down my spine.

He pressed his knee roughly between my legs and began rocking it back and forth. The fabric of my panties scraping against my clit with each movement from the man hovering over me.

I pressed my hands on his shoulders lightly and tried to make him back off for a minute. He was hurting me, his teeth and fingers just too much for my sensitive nipples. Usually I liked it rough like this, but something didn't feel right.

After a moment of light pushing I finally put some force in it and made Daryl sit back on his heels, glaring at me angrily.

"Th'fuck?" He asked, holding his hands up in confusion.

I looked at him, his pupils were dilated to the full extent and he was grinding his teeth. Out of anger, I wasn't sure but I had never seen him do that before.

"Are you high?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Daryl glared at me and I instantly knew the answer. "You are!" I pointed my finger at him accusingly. "How dare you." I hissed, pulling my feet from between his legs. I rushed to where my bra had fallen on the floor and grabbed the white tank top that sat in the corner.

"Where ya goin'?" Daryl asked as I pulled the tank top over my head. I hurriedly pushed my arms through the arm holes and slipped my feet into my boots.

"Home." I growled angrily, snatching up my bad that sat on the floor next to the door. "I still expect you to fix my bike." I glared at him as I pulled the door open.

"You gon' walk?" He asked, gawking at me as I nodded, slipping out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

I slipped into the blackness and started walking. I didn't know where I was, but I wasn't gonna stay here. Not with him.

"Fuck him." I snorted angrily. "Good-for-fuckin'-nothin'-junkie." I grumbled, throwing my bag over my shoulder as I made my way towards the main road.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for following and favoriting this story! I couldn't have done with without misssunnyreedus who has been helping me write this and who gave me the idea for this story. Keep reviewing and following! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. **

Daryl's POV

"Fuckin' bitch." I grumbled, pulling the screen door open roughly, not looking back at her disappearing figure walking down my driveway. I slammed the heavy wooden door behind me as I made my way into the house.

I walked through the kitchen and into the living room, turning the light on as I walked past Merle's chair. It had been empty for almost a year now. As much of an asshole as Merle was, he was my brother, and he was all I had. When he wasn't around, it was kind of like a breath of fresh air, finally away from the dark cloud hanging over my head all the fucking time.

Even though Merle was a giant pain in the ass, I missed him. Without him around, this cabin got kind of lonely.

I walked back into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There wasn't any food in there, except for a jar of pickles, a thing of mustard, and hot sauce. Other than that, the fridge held a thirty rack of Natty light beer. I reached into the cardboard container and grabbed a beer, enjoying the cool air flowing from the open refrigerator. I stood there for a minute with the door open and just let the coolness wash over me before closing the door and making my way back to the living room.

I sat down in my chair, that sat on the opposite side of the room from Merles, in the corner. Next to it sat a wooden TV tray. It already was a mess with beer cans and bottles from the many nights before. I grunted as I tossed the empty beer cans into Merle's chair.

I'd clean them up later, I told myself. Which I would.

I sat down in my chair and cracked the can open, bringing it to my lips and taking a large gulp before setting it on the corner of the tray I moved in front of me. I sat forward and grabbed the little bag of weed that sat in the middle of the tray.

I opened it and inhaled deeply. The smell alone already started making me feel better. I smiled to myself as I grabbed a rolling paper and folded in half the long way. I opened it and held it between my thumb and forefinger and sprinkled the weed into the fold of the rolling paper.

I added a little tobacco from a ripped open cigarette and brought the rolling paper to my lips and ran my tongue along the edge of the thin sheet of paper and rolled it over the other edge.

Within seconds I had my spliff rolled and sparked up.

I inhaled, pulling the mixture of tobacco and marijuana into my lungs, leaning back into my chair, closing my eyes as I rolled the joint between my fingers.

I did kind of fuck up tonight with Kristina. I really shouldn't have left and gotten high. I could be inside her right now. But nope, I had to go get high.

I couldn't imagine the look on her face if she had seen my scars though. Who would want to be with someone who's back was all torn up and scarred like mine was?

It probably would have scared her away, so no matter what I did, she'd probably still be walking her ass home. She's too good for a fuck up like me anyway. Merle had always been right, and so had my father.

_"You'll never amount to nothin'', ya piece of shit." _

_"Yer ain't no good wit'out me 'round, baby brother, y'know that, right?"_

I nervously scratched at the stubble growing on my jaw. I sighed and opened my eyes, hitting the joint again, watching the smoke dance in front of me, floating further and further towards the ceiling before disappearing.

I placed the joint in the ashtray on the TV tray and grabbed the crossbow sitting beside my chair on the floor. The cool titanium felt good in my hands as I brought it to my lap. I ran my fingers over it and inspected the hunting tool carefully, making sure nothing was out of place, scratched or scuffed.

This was my baby. My crossbow. The only thing I actually had any control over anymore. It was no good without me, it _needed_ me to work. I grabbed the rag hanging off the corner of my chair and spit into it, rubbing it carefully back and forth against the metal and closed my eyes.

Holding my crossbow between my knees, I grabbed the spliff and placed it between my lips, pulling smoke into my mouth as I went back to cleaning my bow, meticulously making sure to get into every little nook and cranny.

I looked over at Merle's empty chair and shook my head. He'd be home soon and I'm not sure how I felt about it. With Merle around, the drugs got even worse. He'd have me doing shit I didn't even know the name of. Without him, I just stuck to my basics.

Weed and oxy's at home.

Coke at work.

If I didn't do coke, and every once in a while speed, I'd get nothing done. When I'm high, I can put a car engine back together in less than half an hour.

I needed it.

It's the only time I felt good at something.

Except for hunting. I was a fucking great hunter, and everyone knew that. I was proud of that. Stuffed deer heads lined the walls of the living room and what used to be our dining room.

When Merle and I first got this place, it used to have a dining room. Now it's a gun room. A supply room for when we would go on hunting trips, deep into the woods for a couple days at a time.

Now all our shit just took up space. Guns and ammo spread out on the table, folded up tents, sleeping bags, kitchen shit littered the floor. You could barely get in there without tripping over something.

I shook my head and looked around for my pill bottle, then remembered I had left it in the bathroom. I internally cursed at myself for forgetting them, but sighed and got up anyway. I quickly made my way into the bathroom and grabbed the pill bottle off the sink.

I opened up the bottle and sighed. I only had a couple left, and I couldn't get more until Merle came home.

"Shit." I growled, taking two out of the bottle. I held them in my palm as I made my way back to the living room and back to my chair.

I grabbed the large, ten inch hunting knife that sat on the table beside my chair and carefully dumped the pills on to the tray. I held the hunting knife flat on it's side and held it over the two white pills and used the heel of my hand to crush the oxycotin between the wood of the tray and the steel of my knife.

I rocked the knife back and forth, making sure to crush them as well as I could. I used the blade of the knife to cut the powder, making it finer and easier to snort.

I made sure to cut the powder down as fine as it would go before separating the pile of oxy powder into four lines. I re-rolled the dollar bill sitting on the table beside my chair and leaned forward, closing one nostril with my thumb before snorting the line of powder through the bill into my open nostril.

I did the same with the remaining three lines and sat back, grabbing a cigarette from the pack sitting on the tray.

I closed my eyes and thought about Kristina. The way she looked when I had myself pressed up against her sent chills down my spine. She had these dark blue eyes that you just get lost in when you look into them. I remembered the way her bare skin felt on my fingers. The little ring that dangled from her belly button.

The tattoo of a black widow on her hip. I remember that. I remember it vividly. I had kissed it after I had come out of the bathroom. I ran my tongue along the outline, and how my tongue on her skin had made her moan.

"Fuck." I sighed, opening my eyes. I really did fuck up tonight. I could have had this girl wrapped around my finger if I could have just not gotten high for one fucking night.

Fucking up. That's all I was good at anymore.

* * *

The little bell above the door to the shop jingled softly. It made me look up from the computer, only to be greeted by a puffy eyed Kristina.

"Hey." I mumbled nervously, not really sure how to talk to her after what had happened. I was high too, and that made me nervous. She always knew.

"Hi." She nearly whispered, walking up to the counter. "Did the parts come in for my bike?" She asked, not looking at me, instead keeping her eyes on her hands. She was picking at a tissue she had all crumpled up in her palm.

"Yea, jus' got'em in." I nodded towards the boxes sitting in the corner of the shop. She looked over and nodded at them softly. She turned back towards me and looked like she was about to cry. "S'wrong?" I asked. I didn't like seeing her sad. It hurt me.

"Nothing." She whimpered, looking up at the ceiling as I watch the tears begin to fill her eyes. "Ugh." She groaned before finally blinking, sending two tear drops racing down her rosy cheeks.

"Somthin's wrong." I moved closer to her, leaning on the counter to try and catch her eyes in mine.

"It's my aunt." She whispered, wiping the tears off her cheek with the back of her hand. "We just found out she has lung cancer." I shook my head and moved my hand to hers, trying to comfort her the best I could.

I didn't ever have to comfort people before. I didn't know what the fuck to do. I felt uncomfortable with her crying like this in front of me. All I wanted to do was jump over the counter and just hold her as tightly as I could, but I felt that would be inappropriate.

"Shit." I whispered, trying to hold her hand in mine but she pulled it away and wiped her eyes with it instead. I stood up straight and wiped my hands on my pants nervously.

Kristina covered her hands with her face and that's when I noticed the little rubber bracelet around her wrist. It was a pearly white and had STRENGTH, HOPE and FAITH stamped in on the side.

"When will my bike be fixed?" Kristina asked through sniffles. I looked over at the boxes and thought for a moment.

"I can get it fixed by Friday…" I made my voice trail off, giving Kristina a sideways glance carefully, gauging her reaction.

"If…?" She looked over at me and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let me cook you dinner." I nodded at her. "Gotta be at yer place, though." I loved the courage I had when I was high. If I was sober, I probably would have avoided Kristina all together and would have gotten someone else to fix her bike.

But not when I was high.

"You wanna cook me dinner?" She asked, wrinkling her nose. I nodded and walked to the other side of the counter where she was standing.

"Gotta let me make it up to you." I explained, "Plus, ya need a night off."

Kristina looked at me carefully for a minute. Her eyes met mine for the first time that day and my knees buckled when I looked into her eyes. Her crying had only made them darker and I was sure that I was going to drown in them if I didn't look away.

"Fine." She half grumbled, half spat at me. I smirked triumphantly. "No. Drugs." She poked my chest with each word and turned to leave.

"No drugs!" I called back at her. I was serious too. I would stay sober if that's what she wanted.

Couldn't tell ya why I wanted this girl to be happy, but shit, I did. That's all I wanted was to see her smile because of me. Hell, it didn't even need to be because of me, her smile in general was bright enough to light up any room she walked into.

I caught myself staring at her while she walked towards her car. Couldn't help it, I hated seeing her go, but shit, I sure as hell did love to watch her leave.

* * *

I knocked on the door softly, standing outside Kristina's aunts house, holding four squirrels by the tail in one hand and two quails I had shot earlier that day.

Kristina pulled the door open and smiled at me. "Oh, what a surprise to see you here." She said sarcastically, opening the screen door for me. She looked down at the contents in my hand and gasped. "Why do you have those!?" She asked, pointing to my hands.

"They're dinner!" I cheered happily. She gawked at me and then wrinkled her nose.

"Luckily, I was prepared for an event like this and bought steaks earlier." She took the squirrels and quails from my hand and opened the door, setting them outside on the porch. "You can take those home later, I'll fix you a doggy bag." She teased, leading me into the kitchen.

"Steaks?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I hadn't had steak in years. Squirrel and venison is what I had lived off of since Merle had left. It's free and easy.

"Is that alright?" She asked, turning to look at me once we reached the kitchen. I nodded and looked around the house. It was a nice house, much bigger than mine but it didn't feel like a home.

Kristina and I both felt out of place and I didn't know why. She didn't look comfortable here. She had this on edge attitude and it was making me nervous.

"Fuck yeah that's alright." I sat down at the table. Kristina pulled the fridge open, grabbing the steaks from within.

She placed them on the counter and then went back to the fridge, grabbing an armful of vegetables. I watched as she spread everything out on the counter and looked over at me.

"The grill is outside." She said, pointing to the deck outside the back door. The grill was already open, but not on. I looked back at her and she was already holding the steaks in my direction. "Don't put them on yet, I'll need a couple minutes to start my potatoes." She explained as I stood up from the table.

"What kinda potatoes?" I asked, taking the steaks from her hand.

"You'll see." She said in a sing song voice. I couldn't help but chuckle as I made my way out onto the deck.

I grabbed a cigarette from my pack and lit it, placing the steaks on one of the ledges on the grill. I heard pots banging around inside and looked over my shoulder back towards the house.

This is what I wanted. I wanted someone to come home to at night. Someone to cook dinner with and talk about my day with.

I liked being sober, especially when I was with Kristina. She never made me feel bad about who I was, which was something I wasn't used to. Getting high made all the demons I had go away. It quieted the voices of my father and brother always talking shit in the back of my head.

But Kristina was doing that too.

I walked around the deck and took in the large back yard of her aunts house. She had a big red barn off to the left and I could hear animals inside, moving around and making sounds. Horses probably, and I think I could hear a couple cows, but I wasn't sure.

"Can you open this for me?" Kristina asked from behind me. I turned and saw her holding a little gar of minced garlic towards me.

"Oh, y'aint strong enough t'do it on yer own?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I held the cigarette between my lips, taking the jar from her and easily twisting the cap off.

"Oh whatever," she scoffed. "I loosened it for you." She grumbled, grabbing the jar from my hand and rushing back inside.

I smiled and shook my head, finishing my cigarette and flicking it into the yard. I turned around and made my way back towards the door that lead into the house and poked my head in. The smell of bacon and garlic danced around in my nostrils and it made my mouth water.

"Damn that smells good." I growled, watching Kristina move from the counter to the stove, which had all four burners going under an array of different sized pots and pans.

"You can probably put those steaks on now." She explained, pulling the stove open. She reached in, covering her hand with a towel before moving a pan around on the rack. I didn't know what she was cooking, but man it smelled good. I don't think I've ever had a home cooked meal like this before.

I walked over to the grill and looked at it.

_Push to ignite._

That's what the button said, so I did it. I pushed it and heard a clicking from inside but saw no flames. I pressed it again and still, no flame.

"What the fuck." I growled, pushing the button over and over again until I heard footsteps behind me.

"Having an issue?" Kristina asked, standing beside me. I looked down at her and shrugged.

"Thing won't turn on." I pointed to the push to ignite button. Kristina looked down underneath the grill and shook her head.

"You didn't turn the propane on." She explained and reached under the grill and twisted a knob and then stood up. She waited a couple seconds and then pressed the little red button and I watched as the little blue and red flames danced underneath the metal poles of the grill. "Tah-dah!" I shook my head and glared at her. She smiled at me and reached up to cup my face. I almost pulled back but stopped myself and let her warm hand touch my cheek. "Now, don't get mad cause a big manly man like you didn't know how to turn the grill on." She patted my cheek gently and turned on her heels, hastily making her way back inside.

* * *

"This is some good fuckin' shit." I said through a mouthful of food. Kristina smiled and nodded, taking a bite of her steak.

"Delicious." she nodded, covering her hand with her mouth. I took a swig of the beer sitting in front of me and sat back in my chair. Kristina looked across the table at me and held her chin in her hand, resting on her elbow.

"What?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable under her intense gaze she had on me. She was smiling softly, her eyes looked sleepy but she shook her head and just continued to look at me.

Finally, after a long period of silence between us, she sat up and looked me dead in the eye.

"You're better than this, you know." She whispered to me. I raised an eyebrow and gave her a confused look. What the fuck was this girl talking about? "Better than this place." She explained quietly. "Better than those drugs you do." She wrinkled her nose at the last part and shook her head.

"Not everyone else thinks so." I growled at her, taking another bite of steak as she leaned back in her chair, grabbing her beer bottle off the table and holding it in her lap.

"It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. Hell, it doesn't matter what I think either. It matters what you think." She explained. "You really like being fucked up all the time?" She asked. I could tell by her body language she wasn't comfortable. She was nervous. And I was getting mad.

I didn't want to have a fucking therapy session. I wanted to eat dinner and maybe get to fuck this girl, but shit, I didn't want to get analyzed and treated like some sort of crazy person.

"Yea, actually I do." I snapped back at her. She looked up from her beer bottle and caught my eyes and shook her head.

"Really?" She asked, her face unchanging as she spoke. I nodded and set my fork down on the table.

"Yeah." I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my arms over my chest. "Makes life easier." I added, finally tearing my eyes from hers.

She snorted in laughter and shook her head, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "Life isn't supposed to be fucking easy." She scoffed. "You go through things in life that shape who you should become. Drugs is like cheating."

I couldn't say anything. I just looked at her. She was right. Life wasn't meant to be easy and I was taking an easy way out of dealing with my life, with my fucked up problems.

"Is your brother in prison because of drugs?" She asked. I nodded, going back to the half finished steak on my plate. I had lost my appetite but I didn't want to pass up this once in a life time-for me-meal.

"Do you want to end up like him?" She asked.

"No." I snapped back a little too quickly. I shook my head. She sat there for a moment, circling the mouth of her beer bottle with her index finger slowly.

"I'll help you quit before he comes home." She whispered.

"What?" I asked, "Why?" I was shocked. No one had ever shown me they cared before. Her offering to help me like that, showed me she cared and it threw me off guard. I was confused at why someone like her would ever be interested in someone like me.

But that's sober me talking. Junkie me thinks I'm the coolest thing around. Junkie me has unlimited courage and charm. Sober me was awkward and uncomfortable all the time.

Except for when I was with her.

"Because I like you." She chewed at the inside of her lip. "I like you when you're sober. I like you like this." She gestured at me with her hand and shrugged her shoulders.

"What if I don' wanna quit?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her in question. She shrugged and pursed her lips together.

"I won't keep hanging out with you." She explained. I saw her lean forward a little, then sit back in her chair, like she was going to say something, but stopped herself. "Not that I'm the reason you should be getting sober. You need to want to get better before I can help you."

"Why th'fuck d'ya wanna help me so bad?" I asked, finally tired of all the bullshit.

"Because I know you're better than what you think." She explained quietly. "You deserve so much better than this." I looked at her, confused about what she meant.

"Th'fuck d'ya mean '_I deserve_' more?" I question, getting rather annoyed.

"You deserve better than a junkie brother who doesn't help your struggling addiction, if anything, he probably feeds it. You deserve better than a run down, two car garage with no business. You deserve better than the pills and the coke and whatever else you're pumping into your system, Daryl!" She was shouting now, she pushed herself to her feet and walked out into the living room, running her fingers through her hair.

"Y'don't even know me." I growled, pushing my chair away from the table. I followed her into the living room and found her sitting on the floor, smoking a cigarette.

"I may not know you, but I do know that you at least trying to get clean, can't hurt." She looked up at me and shook her head. "My dad died of a drug overdose." She explained. "I had to hold his hand while he slipped away." She got that look in her eyes like she was gonna cry and my heart panged._ Don't cry, please don't cry_, I screamed internally. "The only thing he left me was that bike." Her voice cracked softly and I could see the tears welling in her eyes.

I watched her for a long time, the way her curly hair showered down past her shoulders, the way the smoke billowed from her lips for a second before she inhaled it into her lungs.

"Okay." I said softly, nodding my head. "I can try t'get clean. I ain't gon' make any promises though."

"Really?" She asked, putting her cigarette out in the ashtray on the floor next to her. I nodded again and took a step towards her.

"Really."

Kristina's POV

I lead Daryl upstairs to the guest bedroom, my fingers entwined with his as he followed close behind. His body was pressed tightly up against mine as I opened the door, shuffling inside slowly before shutting the door behind us.

"My shirt stays on, okay?" His deep voice rumbled in my ear as I made my way towards the large, unmade bed.

"Okay." I answered, turning around so I was facing him. "But mine has to come off." I teased, hooking my fingers in his belt loops playfully. Daryl smirked and grabbed the hem of my t-shirt, pulling it up and over my head in one swift motion.

I replaced my hands at his jeans and quickly started undoing the button, feeling it pop free between my fingers I pushed the fabric down his legs and let them fall at his feet. He turned me around and unhooked my bra, pushing the straps down my shoulder swiftly.

Daryl walked me towards the bed, his arms wrapped around my waist, his legs pushing my legs forward. I laughed softly as he pushed his knees into mine causing them to buckle and then collapse underneath my weight, I fell half way onto the bed. Daryl moved his hands over my round ass, squeezing and groping it roughly in his hands. His fingers hooked into the waistband of the leggings I had on and he slowly, teasingly began pulling them down the roundness off my ass, then down my pale, fleshy thighs. Daryl let them fall to my knees before grabbing the pant legs, pulling them off me the rest of the way.

I felt him kneel down behind me, pushing my legs apart further with his knees.

I suddenly became very giddy, excited at the feeling of him behind me like this. The way his rough, calloused hands roamed the bare skin of my back. I groaned when he pressed his erection against me through my panties. I arched my back and pushed my ass back against his hips.

He hooked his fingers in the delicate lace of my panties and ripped them off of me roughly, the sound of tearing fabric filling the quiet room. I gasped as the cool air danced across my bare ass, making me shiver as Daryl moved so he was leaning over me, his lips finding my shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked. I nodded and heard the sound of foil from behind me.

"Glad you came prepared." I mumbled sarcastically, smirking back at him as he rolled the condom down his shaft. I bit my lip when I saw how big he really was and became anxious for what was going to happen.

He gripped my hip with one hand, and used the other to slowly guide himself into my aching nether.

"Oh… f-fuck." I whimpered, arching my hips up to meet his as he moved himself in and out of me, slowly pushing himself deeper and deeper with each movement.

His other hand found my hip and that's when he started thrusting. Slow, hard, calculated thrusts that caused the ridge of his cock to scrape perfectly against my g-spot.

"D-Daryl." I whispered, clenching my walls around his cock tightly, coaxing a throaty growl from Daryl as his pace quickened.

He slid one hand up the length of my back and grabbed the ends of my hair in his hand and wrapped it around in his fist until it was tight against my scalp. He pulled my head back, and used my hair as leverage to pull by body back against his as he thrust into me roughly.

The sound of our skin smacking together and moaning filled the room as I felt his cock throb inside of me. He used his knees to kick my legs further apart and open me up wider for him. His body hovered over me from behind and he sunk his teeth into my shoulder, scraping them down my skin until he was at my spine. His sharp canines bit me, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough that I'd bruise. I moaned loudly and arched my back against him. His tongue replaced his teeth as he traced the bite mark playfully.

"S-s-spank m-me, please." I whimpered breathlessly. Each time he thrust forward, the wind was knocked out of me, his roughness turning me on even more than I already was.

I yelped at the feeling of his palm coming down on the fleshy cheek of my ass. "Harder." I growled, clenching my teeth together tightly as the stinging began to spread throughout the handprint on my ass. He brought his hand down harder on my flesh. "F-fuck." I groaned, arching my back more dramatically, pushing my ass high in the air for him.

Instead of another spanking, which is what I was hoping for, he pulled out of me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Before I could blink, Daryl had me laying on my back, and was already between my legs again.

One hand swiftly moved to my throat and he gently began to squeeze. My hands wrapped around his wrist as he entered me again, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. I used the heel of my feet to push him into me harder, digging them into his lower back, egging him on to fuck me rougher.

I wasn't disappointed.

He slammed into me, over and over again until I thought I was seeing stars.

"Cum fer me, girl." He growled, moving his free hand to the sensitive little bud between my legs. Then I lost it. I screamed his name, digging my heels into his back roughly. My nails violently clawing at his wrist as his fingers circled my clit.

"D-d-d-d-Daryl!" I screamed again, feeling his cock throb inside of me once more as he grunted, squeezing my throat tightly, momentarily cutting off my oxygen as he came. I gasped as he slowly released my throat, slowly trailing his hand down my chest, between my breasts and down my stomach to the tattoo on my hip.

"Fuck." He mumbled, rolling over to lay beside me. I nodded, unable to speak as I slowly came down from my orgasm.

Daryl sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, reaching down to the floor to grab his jeans. He dug around in his pocket for a while before producing a pack of cigarettes. He pulled two from the pack and handed one to me, lighting the tip with his lighter.

I inhaled and watched as Daryl did the same, grabbing the ashtray from the bedside table and placing it between us on the bed.

"Gettin' clean might not be s'bad after all." He said softly. I looked over at him as the smirk on his face grew to a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Review please!**_

* * *

"Is this all of it?" I asked, holding the big, plastic garbage out at Daryl. He shook his head and gestured for me towards the hallway. I stepped aside and let him lead me to where he wanted to go.

I had spent most of the day with him. He had dropped me off at the hospital the next morning after dinner. He went to work and then when he got out, he picked me up and we went back to his little cabin. I don't remember much about it, seeing as the last time I was here I was drunk off my ass.

Daryl lead me into the living room and pointed towards a wooden TV tray sitting next to an old, brown chair. I saw it littered with drug paraphernalia and wrinkled my nose, walking towards it.

"Anything you want to keep on here?" I asked, looking down at the large hunting knives, cigarettes, lighters and razor blades.

I carefully picked up one of the triangular blades and held it up, inspecting it in the light. "S'fer an arrow." He explained from behind me. I looked back and placed it with the others, back on the TV tray.

He stepped beside me and picked up the little razors, the lighters and the hunting knife and shook his head. "Throw it out?" I asked, wrapping my arm around one end of the tray. He nodded at me and let out a long, exasperated sigh. I swept the contents of the TV tray into the plastic bag.

"Where else?" I asked, moving towards the center of the room, holding a corner of the bag. He shrugged and rubbed at his neck softly, still avoiding my eyes. I shrugged and set the bag down on the floor and moved over to the big bay window that over looked the wood's behind Daryl's cabin.

I got down on my hands and knees and looked underneath the window sill.

Boom.

I ripped the hypodermic needle free from the tape that had been hiding it carefully under the window sill and waved it at Daryl.

"That's Merle's shit!" He exclaimed angrily, pointing at the needle in my hand. "He's gon' be madder than a fuckin' bobcat caught in a damn piss fire if he comes back an' all his shit is gone." Daryl began pacing the room slowly, biting the tip of his thumb between his teeth as he watched me move around the living room, looking in spots my father used to hide all his shit.

"Who knows, maybe Merle will be a changed man when he comes home." I said hopefully, carefully pushing my hands between the couch cushions, moving them around to find a stash, a pipe, anything!

My fingers brushed something cold and hard between the cushions and I wrapped my hand around it and pulled it out. A little one hitter for weed sat in the palm of my hand. I gave Daryl a look when I tossed the pipe into the bag and went back on my hunt.

"You don' know Merle." Daryl growled from the other side of the room. I shrugged my shoulders and shoved my hands back between the couch cushions. The couch was empty so I moved to a large, dark mahogany cupboard along the far wall near the back door.

As I made my way over to it, Daryl casually stepped in front, making it impossible for me to reach it.

"It would be a lot easier if you just told me where everything is." I explained, stepping to the side. He followed my movements and stepped in front of me again. I sighed and looked up at him, "Really?" I asked, moving to the other side quickly.

Daryl mirrored my movements and was standing in front of me again, arms crossed over his chest, face unchanging as cursed him under my breath. I went to take a step to the side and Daryl followed but I quickly went the other way and ducked past Daryl before he could move in front of me.

I pulled the doors of the cupboard open and shook my head. Pill bottles lined the shelves inside. "How the fuck does Merle get all of this?" I asked, picking up a little clear bottle with a metal top.

Ketamine.

"Daryl!" I exclaimed, spinning around and holding the bottle in his face. "Do you know what this is? It's a god damned horse tranquilizer!" I couldn't help but get angry at him. If Merle was here, I'd be screaming at him, not Daryl. I knew this wasn't his shit. I could tell by the way he held his eyes narrowed on mine. He took a step towards me, his eyes dark, hooded by his furrowed brow.

"I don' touch that shit." He hissed at me. "Yer really cookin' my grits t'day girl. Why th'fuck did I agree to this stupid shit!?" His brow had beads of sweat forming at his hairline. I could tell he was starting to go through withdrawal. I felt bad for him because I don't think he knew what he was in for.

Withdrawal was a bitch. I had watch both parents go through it growing up. The fever nightmares, the sweats, the puking. It was awful. But I'd be here. I'd stay to help. He was going to need it.

I walked back towards the center of the room to grab the garbage bag. I turned to see Daryl slipping something into his pocket quickly.

I inhaled deeply. Stay calm. Don't get mad. He's an addict. This is what addicts do.

I quietly came up behind him and snatched the bottle half hanging out of his pocket. "Hmm?" I hummed at him, raising both my eyebrows in question.

"I need those fer m'back." He growled, reaching out for the bottle. I pulled my hand away and furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"I'll buy you advil." I put my palm flat on his chest, leaning back as he leaned forward, snatching at the bottle in my hand.

"Th'fuck am I gon' do wit' advil?" He asked angrily, throwing his hands up in the air, defeated. "S'bout as useful as a trapdoor on a canoe!" He exclaimed, reaching into his pocket, grabbing his cigarettes. I watched as he lit the cigarette between his lips and took a desperate pull on the tobacco.

I turned around and continued to toss pill bottle after pill bottle into the bag until the cupboard was empty.

"Daryl Dixon." I said forcefully. He turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow. "Is this all of the drugs?" I asked, gesturing towards the garbage bag on the floor. He nodded and I gave him a knowing look. "So if I go in the bathroom, there wont be any in there?" I asked curiously, taking a step in the direction of the hallway.

"Fuckin' bitch." I heard Daryl hiss under his breath as I walked past him.

"That's me!" I called back to him as I entered the bathroom. "Where?" I shouted out to him, still in the living room. I could hear him pacing back and forth.

"Behind the mirror." Daryl called back. I pulled on the corner of the mirror hanging above the sink and watched as it slowly opened. Once again, pill bottle after pill bottle scattered along the shelves. I sighed and scooped them all into my arms and once I was sure that the bathroom was clean, I made my way into the living room.

Daryl was sitting in his old, brown leather chair, rocking it back and forth gently, rubbing his forehead gently with one hand.

"You okay?" I asked, dropping the pill bottles into the garbage bag. He shook his head and stayed silent. I frowned and walked over to him, kneeling in front of his chair. "Do you want to go lay down?" I asked, wrapping my fingers around his hand gently, giving it a small squeeze. He nodded and pulled his hand away from his forehead, looking down at me with blood shot eyes.

"Yea." He mumbled, pushing himself to a standing position.

* * *

Daryl's POV

My head was pounding. It was like a migraine times fifty. I could barely open my eyes without feeling like I was going to puke. This was way worse than what I thought it was going to be. I had never seen someone go through withdrawal before. Besides myself, Merle was the only person I knew who did drugs, not that I hung out with anyone else anyway, but Merle always had something to keep him floating, so he never had to go through withdrawal.

Kristina sat the head of my mattress, running her hands through my hair softly. It was such a calming feeling. I could slowly start to feel the anxiety and stress leave my body at the touch of her fingernails gently scraping across my scalp.

"My mom used to like this when she was going through withdrawal." Kristina whispered, combing her fingers through my damp hair. She carefully pulled the strands of hair matted to my forehead with sweat, away from my skin and smoothed it all back away from my face.

She slowly ran her fingers across my forehead and then down my temples, never keeping her fingers in the same place for too long before moving them around my face again. The pads of her fingers were soft against my cheeks as she wiped the sweat forming under my eyes away. I couldn't believe the pain I was in.

I felt like my stomach was imploding on itself.

"Do you want me to go get you something from the store?" Kristina asked softly, her fingers finding my hair again. I shook my head. "I was going to get you some advil, try and take the headache down a couple notches." I shook my head again, still keeping my eyes closed.

"I don' need it." I whispered. My throat was dryer than the fuckin' waterin' hole in June.

"Yes you do." She whispered back, taking the cool wet wash cloth she had sitting beside her, and running it across my forehead carefully.

I sighed in relief at the cool, dampness on my skin. I was burning up. I couldn't stop sweating, the clothes I were in were already wet with perspiration.

"You need aspirin." She folded the washcloth in half and placed it across my eyes. I felt the mattress shift as she stood up but I reached out for her and tugged on her shirt.

"Don't." I growled softly. I felt her body slump back against the mattress and her hand found mine. She squeezed it gently and held my hand while her free hand found my hair again. We sat there like that until I couldn't help but fall asleep, the repetitions of her fingers grazing my scalp gently calming me in my shitty condition.

The sweat dripped from my finger tips, and off the tip of my nose as I walked through my burning childhood home. The flames danced around my legs but never seemed to really cause any pain. I just couldn't breath. My mouth and throat were so dry I thought I was choking. I walked up the stairs to my room, or what was left of it. The small, twin sized bed burned brightly in the corner, and the few toys I did have were melting slowly in the flames.

I turned around at the sound of a door opening over the crackling and snapping of burning wood and saw a figure standing in the door way.

"Mom?" I croaked out. The shadow took a step towards me, and that's when the figure became more clear.

My mother stood before me, her flesh burning. I could smell it, the smell of burning hair, and the distinct sound of sizzling flesh. I almost gagged, but held my hand over my mouth and took a step towards her, reaching out with my other hand. The flames that engulfed my mother, danced around my fingers as I brushed my hand against the back of her wrist.

As I touched her, she slowly began to back away, back into her and my fathers bedroom. I took a step towards her doorway but a loud crack made me stop and look up just in time to see a beam from the ceiling. I jumped back and the beam missed me by inches. I looked up and saw the door to my parents room had been closed and I looked around. My only option was to go back downstairs but a familiar fear pierced me as I heard the tell tale sound of his work boots on the hard wood downstairs.

I covered my mouth and backed up against the opposite wall, away from the beam in the corner. The sound of his feet on the stairs brought tears to my eyes, and I cowered in the corner quietly, hoping he wouldn't see me in the shadows.

The fire had subsided and now everything looked like it had before it burned down. I covered my eyes with my hands and brought my knees up to my chest, curling myself into the smallest ball possible.

"Where'ya at, boy?" His deep voice echoed throughout the small hallway, and it send shivers down my spine.

I heard his feet touch the top step and then stop suddenly.

"There ya are." He growled. The sound of the hard, heavy rubber hitting the wood, coming towards me made my stomach churn and I felt like I was going to puke at any moment. He stopped in front of me, grabbing me by the upper arm roughly, pulling me out further into the hallway.

"Where'er m'smokes?" He asked, shaking my upper arm violently.

"I ain't touch'em!" I exclaimed, looking up at my father. He brought his hand down hard on my cheek and shook my arm again, harder. A loud pop filled my ears before the pain surged through my body. I whimpered as he continued to shake my arm, asking again where his smokes where.

"Tell th'truth, now. Don' make me get th'belt." He growled lowly in my ear.

"I mean it daddy," I choked out through sobs. The tears rolled down my cheeks. I cried because I was in pain, and because I was scared. The belt was the worst punishment you could get. Six lashes across the bare back. "Merle took'em." I sobbed, now fearing for the safety of my brother.

"Lyin' sonofabitch, Merle ain't been home all day!" He screamed, pushing me down onto the floor roughly. I pushed my legs against the hard wood and tried to crawl away but he followed me, pulling at his belt swiftly.

The sound of the leather sliding against the denim of his jeans made me choke out another hard sob. My father reached down and pulled my shirt off, tossing it over the railing, and sending it floating down to the first floor.

I didn't fight him when he pushed me onto my stomach, and placed his boot on my lower back, leaning into it as he brought the belt down hard on my bare skin.

I screamed loudly, clenching my fists tightly into my mouth, trying to muffle them but failing miserably.

Three more lashes before I heard heavy, clumsy footsteps on the stairs.

Merle.

"Th'fuck you doin' t'Daryl?" His deep, hoarse voice filled my ears and I felt my father remove his boot from my back.

I looked back and saw my father walk over to my brother and pull the pack of cigarette from his shirt pocket. "Beatin' him cause yer a fuckin' thief." My father growled in his ear, whipping the cigarettes against Merles chest angrily before he took off down the stairs.

"Daryl." Merle's voice was in my ear. I could feel his hand on my face as I slipped in and out of consciousness. "Daryl, come on, wake up." He begged, slapping his hand on my cheek gently. "Daryl."

"Daryl, wake up." It was still Merle, but that wasn't his voice. It was familiar but I couldn't quite place it. "C'mon, Daryl. Wake up." And slowly, Merle standing over me, the walls of my childhood house, everything faded to black.

I opened my eyes and saw Kristina sitting over me, a concerned look on her face. "Daryl, wake up." She cooed gently. I gasped and sat up quickly.

I couldn't help the twisting in my stomach, and tried to keep it down but leaned over the mattress and threw up all over the floor. I half expected Kristina to run out of the room at the sight of me puking, hell, I wanted her to run out of the room, I didn't want her to see me like this.

I sat there, leaning over the bed, gagging and dry heaving for a moment before finally closing my eyes, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I felt Kristina behind me, running her fingertips up and down my spine.

"It's okay. I'll go get you some water." She whispered, patting my back gently. "I'll clean this up too." She added, crawling to the edge of the bed before standing up and heading out into the kitchen.

I was shivering. I couldn't stop myself but my body was so cold. I had been burning up a minute ago and now I was freezing. I wrapped the one blanket on my bed around my shoulders and brought my knees up into my stomach. I felt like I was going to puke again and my head was pounding. The only thing I could do was close my eyes.

Kristina came back in the room with a towel over her shoulder and a glass of water in her hand. She knelt down beside me, handing me the glass of water as she began to clean up the mess I had mad.

"Sorry." I mumbled, taking the water from her. She looked up at me, giving me a questioning look. "Y'know… fer pukin'." I gestured towards the floor. She shook her head and continued to wipe away the vomit on the floor.

"Don't be sorry. It's not like you did it on purpose." She explained. I watched her through hooded eyes as she continued to clean up after me. I set the glass of water down on the floor beside my mattress and closed my eyes again.

* * *

Kristina's POV

Daryl had fallen asleep while I was cleaning up his room. I didn't want to wake him, so I left his room and shut the door behind me. I paced the living room nervously, listening for any sign of distress in his room. His fever nightmare had scared me half to death. He had started crying in his sleep, and asking for his mom. I could have sworn he had said something about Merle too but I couldn't be sure. He had been thrashing around so violently that I wasn't able to catch everything he had said.

I looked around the living room and wrinkled my nose. It was a mess. Beer cans, half empty cans of food, fishing line, dirty clothes, bones, cigarette butts, ashes, empty cans of chewing tobacco and wood shavings were scattered throughout the living room. The kitchen was just as bad.

Their 'dining' room, was a whole different story.

The large, wooden table was lined with guns, boxes of bullets, arrows, different kinds of crossbows and knives. Along the wall, fishing poles stood in a messy row, leaning and tangling into each other. I shook my head and stepped over the duffle bag that sat in front of the door way. I looked around and wrinkled my nose again.

More beer cans, empty chew tins, bullet casings, and a few rat traps littered the what could be beautiful hard wood.

I scampered out of the dining room and quietly made my way down the hall towards Daryl's room. I peered in and he was still sleeping, snoring quietly. I closed the door, making sure to not make a sound in case he was to wake up.

I grabbed my leather jacket and headed towards the door.

I was on a mission.

* * *

Daryl's POV

Opening my eyes was a difficult task. They were glued shut with eye crusties. I finally pried them open with my fingers and looked around. Sunlight streaked through the blinds in my room. My head still ached but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before. I sat up slowly and groaned as my tight, aching muscles stretched for the first time in I don't even know how long I had been asleep.

I looked around my room and had to do a double take. My dresser had been cleaned off of all the empty boxes of ammo, beer cans, ash trays. Everything had been cleaned. All the dirty clothes that once covered the floor were now gone. I rubbed my eyes and wiped the gunk out of the corner of my eyes.

I pushed myself up onto my feet slowly and lifted my arms above my head, grumbling cuss words as I realigned my spine. I heard it pop and snap as I arched it, twisting from side to side.

As I entered the living room my jaw dropped. All the garbage was gone. Everything had been picked up and thrown away, and all the hardwood floors had been swept and mopped. I couldn't believe how good this place looked.

The dining room and kitchen were spotless. All the artillery that had once lined the table had been neatly organized by style, all the guns sat on one side, lined up big to small. Then in the middle the arrows I had made for my crossbow were all lined up together, my crossbow laying there carefully underneath it on a folded up towel as to not scrape the varnish on the polished table. The knives lined the other side of the table, again, sized small to big in a neat little row.

I looked around at the kitchen and shook my head. All the dishes had been done, the counters had been wiped down and the sink had been cleaned. I opened up the fridge and once again, my jaw dropped at the sight of fresh food on the shelves, along with two full thirty racks of Budweiser and a thirty rack of Guinness.

I shut the door to the fridge and stood there for a moment, realizing that this girl, was one of a kind. She took time out of her busy schedule to take care of me. To make sure that I was okay when she should have been at the hospital with her aunt. I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair, wrinkling the nose at the grease and sweat that slicked my palm.

I wiped it on my shirt and looked outside and saw Kristina standing there smoking a cigarette, holding a basket of laundry in her arm.

I made my way outside, making her look back at me, smiling happily.

"Hey." She turned to face me. She looked… cute. I couldn't help but think it. She had on a little pair of cut off jean shorts, and a little white v-neck t-shirt on. Her hair was up in a bun and she had a black bandana wrapped around underneath, tied at a little knot on top.

"Hi." I croaked out, clearing my throat as my voice cracked out of thirst. I squinted my eyes as the sun beat down hard from it's noon position right above us. "What'ya doin'?" I asked quietly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Laundry." She said, nodding down at the basket in her arms. She flicked her cigarette into the yard and blew the smoke from her nose. "How are you feeling?" She asked, I could hear the concern in her voice.

"Better. Still gotta headache, but it's not that bad." I said truthfully. I was sweating again though, mostly from the heat I think, but my body just still didn't feel right. I just felt off. Like something was missing.

I nodded at her softly and licked my lips. "Could, uh I bum a cig off ya?" I asked, holding out my hand. She nodded and set the basket down on the ground, digging into the pocket of her shorts, pulling out a pack of Benson and Hedges.

"Here." She handed me one and then gave me her lighter as she shoved the pack of cigarettes back in her pocket.

I lit the cigarette and handed the lighter back to her. She grabbed the basket off the ground and shook her head, motioning for me to keep it as she walked out towards the clothes line she must have set up, because Merle and I sure as hell didn't do that.

"Ya cleaned the house." I said, following her as she set the basket down, grabbing a pair of my jeans and clipping it to the clothes line. She did the same thing with the shirt she grabbed next.

"Yeah," She started, looking back at me over her shoulder as I inhaled deeply on the cigarette. "I'm kind of a stress cleaner. Had a lot of free time on my hands too." She chuckled. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I questioned. She threw the pair of boxers she had in her hand over her shoulder and put her hands on her hips.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been asleep?" She asked, a small smirk on her face. I shook my head and inhaled on the cigarette again. "You've been asleep for almost 26 hours, Daryl." She explained. My eyes grew wide and I pulled the cigarette from between my lips.

"Are you serious?" I asked, shocked. I can't believe I had slept that long. It honestly only felt like fifteen minutes.

"I couldn't wake you up at all. You were out like a light!" She exclaimed. "I vacuumed and cleaned up and you slept through the entire thing." She nodded, snatching the underwear off her shoulder and turning back towards the clothes line.

"Fuck." I mumbled, placing the cigarette between my lips again.

"Are you hungry? That might help your headache." She looked over her shoulder at me again, clipping a pair of my work pants to the clothes line. I nodded and shrugged my shoulders.

"I could eat." I said softly. She nodded at me and grabbed a work shirt from the basket.

"I'll throw these clothes up and then cook lunch?" She nodded at me again, looking for confirmation. I nodded and flicked the cigarette into the yard. "I'll have to leave after that, I need to go to the hospital. I've only been there once to tell Aunt J that I'd be with you." She added, pinning another pair of boxers to the clothes line.

"That's fine. I'll probably go to th'shop an' start workin' on yer bike." I scratched at the back of my neck, she nodded at me in agreement and went back to clipping clothes to the line.

"You might wanna shower. You stink to high heaven!" She exclaimed, making me chuckle softly. "I ain't gonna wanna eat with you if you stink the way you do now, boy."

"Wanna join me, sunshine?" I teased, playfully raising an eyebrow at her. The clothes pin she was holding snapped out of her fingers and she turned her head to look at me.

"You don't wanna play that game with me, Mister. I'll take you up on that offer faster than you can 'hot damn'." She barked. I laughed and started walking backwards towards the house, holding my arms out, shrugging my shoulders.

"Gon' have'ta fin' out fer yerself, darlin'." I turned on my heel and started into the house. It smelled good. It smelled clean. I felt so much better, physically. But mentally I was still in need of a fix. I wasn't really feeling like myself.

I got to the bathroom as I heard the front door open and what I figured to be the basket Kristina had been carrying the laundry in, hit the floor.

I pulled off my sticky, sweaty shirt and tossed it on the floor. I glanced into the mirror that hung above the sink and my heart dropped into my stomach.

My scars.

I slammed the door to the bathroom shut and leaned against it just as Kristina reached it. I panicked and locked the door.

She knocked gently. "Seriously?" She asked through the door. I shook my head, not knowing what to do. I couldn't let her in. I couldn't let her see my back. She'd be disgusted.

But then again, she did see me puke all over my bedroom floor, and she had seen the way I had been living, I'm sure she could handle my back. But something inside of me just wouldn't go unlock that door. I was petrified of what she'd think of me. How she would judge me because of them.

I heard the doorknob jiggle and she knocked again. "Daryl, are you okay?" She asked, she sounded concerned. I really didn't want to scare her, but I physically couldn't move. "Daryl!" She barked, slamming her fist against the door. "Open it now." She ordered.

The doorknob jiggled again and then I heard what sounded like metal on metal, and the knob of the door turned and she opened the door.

"What on earth was that!?" She shouted. "If you didn't want me to shower with you could have just said something." She added, crossing her arms over her chest. I didn't know what to say.

"Sorry." I mumbled as she took a step towards me. I pressed myself against the wall as she neared me and looked at the tile floor.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, now standing directly in front of me. She bent down so that I was looking at her instead of the floor. "Daryl?" She moved her hand and touched the tip of her finger under my chin and made me follow her eyes as she stood up straight and moved into me, pushing herself up on her tippy toes, and pressed her lips to mine.

I realized I had been holding my breath. She moved her hand from under my chin and wrapped it around my neck. I moved one hand to her side and pulled her into me tighter as I opened my mouth against hers, she mimicked my movements and I ran my tongue along her bottom lip before finally pushing my tongue into her awaiting mouth.

* * *

Kristina's POV

Daryl grabbed the wrist that wasn't wrapped around his neck already and guided it up around his shoulders then slid his hand down to my waist, and gripped it tightly.

Daryl pressed his tongue against mine and I moaned a little, feeling his body pressed so tightly against mine. My body rocked against his as he hooked his fingers under the hem of my shirt and pulled it up my torso. I lifted my arms and let him take it off of me completely. I stood there as he pulled away from my mouth and looked me up and down, nodding his head in improvement.

"Like what you see?" I teased, curling a finger around his hair playfully.

"I'm gon' like it even more in a second." he growled, moving his fingers to the button of my shorts. He quickly had it undone and my zipper down before I could blink and he pushed them down my thighs, letting them fall at my ankles. I stepped away from the shorts and took a couple steps back, letting him examine me completely. "Damn, girl." He whispered, shaking his head as he moved towards me, pushing his jeans down.

I turned the shower on, adjusting the temperature accordingly and watched Daryl's face as I unhooked my bra. He smirked as I pulled it off my shoulders and tossed the lacy item at him, giggling as he swatted it out of the air and nodded at my panties.

I hooked my thumbs in the waistband and pulled them down over the soft curve off my ass, bending over at the waist to push my panties all the way down to my ankles.

"Fuck." Daryl growled from the other side of the shower. I smirked and stepped behind the curtain, into the ceramic tub. I stepped under the stream of water and sighed. It was the perfect mix between warm and cool, enough to cool you from the heat outside, but not enough to keep you from shivering.

I ran my fingers through my hair and let the water wash through it, closing my eyes as I heard the shower curtain rustle and Daryl step in.

"C'mon, move over." He grabbed my waist and moved me to the side, pressing me up against the wall with his hands. I smirked and watched as he let the water run through his hair and down his face before shaking his head, tossing his hair back. I moved my hands across his chest, my fingers hesitating as it ran over a very defined scar.

I looked down and ran my fingers over it and felt Daryl tense up against my touch. "What happened?" I asked softly, tracing the six inch scar above his right pectoral. He shook his head and pressed himself against me but I pushed him back and pointed at the scar. "Daryl, what happened." I pressed, giving him a stern look.

"Nothin'." He growled. I whined quietly. "Don' worry 'bout it now. I'll tell y'later." He mumbled.

I watched as he stepped towards me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulled me under the water with him. It splashed across my shoulders as Daryl moved his hands up my body, sending shivers down my spine when he gently ran the palms of his hands across my nipples.

My knees buckled a little and I leaned against him for support. He braced himself, catching some of my weight with his muscular body. He cupped my face for a moment and made me look at him, I smiled as he trailed his fingers up in my hair and gripped it gently near the roots, pulling my head towards him softly, planting a soft kiss on my forehead.

I closed my eyes and moved my hands across his chest and over his shoulders, gripping them tightly as he pulled away.

"Turn 'round." He growled. I smirked and turned around in his arms. He grabbed my hair by the ends and wrapped my wet locks around in his fist. He jacked me up against the wall and used his forearm to press against my shoulders, pinning me to the wall. "Stick yer ass out." He mumbled in my ear, adjusting himself behind me.

I spread my legs and pushed myself up on my toes, arching my back so my ass stuck out against his groin.

"Damn, that's sexy." He grunted, pulling his arm from my back for just a moment to guide his throbbing cock into my soaking wet pussy. I groaned as he pushed forward roughly, placing his forearm back against my shoulders and leaned in.

I whimpered against the cool tile wall, my hips grinding and gyrating against his as he held himself inside of me for a moment. He sighed loudly against my neck and pulled his hips back, thrusting them forward with force. I gasped and closed my eyes, feeling the ridge of his pulsing, mushroom head of his dick scrape against my g-spot as he pulled back.

"Oh m-my god." I whined as he tightened his grip on my hair.

"Ya like that?" He murmured into my ear. I nodded, panting as he thrust forward once again, this time he moaned and dug his nails into my shoulder and gently scraped them down my back, across my spine and down to my ass.

I let out a soft groan and pushed my ass in the air higher. "Sp-p-pank me." I whispered. I heard him chuckle and then a moment of silence before the loud, wet crack of his hand connecting with my flesh filled my ears. "Oh!" I exclaimed, enjoying the feeling of the burning that begin to spread through my ass cheek.

"Ask fer it again, little slut." He moaned as he began thrust forward with rhythm. I moaned loudly as he brought his hand down on my ass again. I whimpered but felt myself growing more turned on with each spanking.

"Harder." I whispered. He gripped my hair tighter and leaned in close, pressing his lips against my ear.

"What's a good lil' slut say?" He growled, thrusting harder as he rubbed my sore ass cheek with the palm of his hand. I panted and moaned loudly, his cock scraping against my g-spot over and over again, sending waves of pleasure throughout my body.

"H-h-harder." I whined, clenching my eyes shut as he angled his hips upward, holding my hips against his tightly, moving his hips in a small circle, his cock exploring every crevice of my cunt.

"Harder… what?" He teased, trailing his tongue softly over the arch of my ear. I whimpered loudly as the tip of his cock arched against my g-spot slowly.

"H-harder… p-p-please!" I exclaimed as he pulled back and then slammed forward with a roughness unlike before. This was primal. Animalistic. It was fucking hot.

He brought his hand down roughly on my ass and I grunted, moaning once the burning began, feeling his cock throbbing against the walls of my womanhood.

"I'm g-gonna c-cum," I whispered, clenching my muscles around his shaft, feeling his body tense against mine.

He unwrapped his hand around my hair and moved it to my hips, gripping them tightly. "Fuck." He grunted. Speeding up his thrusts he arched his back over me and kissed the side of my head softly as I moaned loudly, my orgasm ripping through me.

"Fuck! D-Daryl!" I screamed, placing my hands against the wall to brace myself, feeling my knees starting to buckle. "Oh my fucking god." I panted, feeling my body going lip. Daryl wrapping his arm around my waist and pulled me into him.

"Fuck." He grunted again, holding himself inside me as he came. "Damn." He groaned, spanking my ass once more, gently this time as he took a step back.

"Dang." I whispered, resting against the wall for a moment. I still couldn't seem to catch my breath. Daryl knew what he was doing and he did it well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Keep reviewing! I'm so happy with this story! And as always, thanks to the lovely missunnyreedus for helping me with this chapter and all the rest 3 **

* * *

I sat, slumped against the black leather recliner they had in Aunt J's room for me. I had the foot rest up and had my arms crossed over my chest, listening to music on my iPod while Aunt J slept.

She wasn't doing any better, and the Dr. Curry said she didn't have much longer. Aunt J had waited too long and she refused to be a burden on anyone so she suffered. I was having a hard time realizing that I was going to have to bury her soon. I almost couldn't believe that it was happening.

I thought about Daryl. It had been about two weeks since the detoxing. He was doing so well, staying away from all the drugs he once depended on so desperately. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, smirking at the memories flooding my brain.

_"Daryl!" I whimpered, "Something just touched my leg!" He laughed from across the fire, watching me as I swatted at whatever had just crawled across my calf. _

_"S'just a bug, calm yer pretty ass down." He said as the smoke billowed from his lip. _

_"Just a bug my ass, that fucker was big!" I whined. I didn't like camping. Well, I had actually never been camping. I had always avoided it. It wasn't something I thought would be fun. Sleeping outside when you could be sleeping in a nice, comfortable bed? Insanity. _

_"Ain't nothin' gon' getchya while I'm here." Daryl narrowed his eyes on mine, nodding his head in reassurance. _

_"You're sexy when you're protective like that." I purred teasingly. He sat up and crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow. _

_"Shut yer mouth, girl. Or I'm gon' come over there an' shut it fer ya." Daryl sneered. I couldn't help but let out a loud snort of laugher. Daryl's brow furrowed and he uncrossed his arms and slumped forward slightly._

_"I'm gettin' in that tent." I mocked his thick, southern accent and stood up, stepping over various obsticals, such as empty beer bottles, logs… car parts. "I should have cleaned the back yard too." I teased under my breath, just loud enough for Daryl to hear._

_"Shut yer mouth, sunshine." He called over his shoulder in a playful voice. _

_"You don' scare me." I whispered, hopefully not loud enough for him to hear, but I needed to get the last word in. _

_I stepped into the tent and removed my boots, leaving them outside the tent. I crawled forward and realized Daryl had set up both our sleeping bags up into one big sleeping bag. Using my fluffy one as a pad we'd lay on, and his thick, military style blanket covering us._

_"Sneaky bastard." I mumbled, smirking as I pulled back the sleeping bag and snuggled down underneath it's already warm interior. I listened as the fire sizzled and popped loudly, closing my eyes and curling my knees into my stomach. _

_I was just driftng off when Daryl stumbled into the tent, unzipping it suddenly, jolting me out of my almost slumber!_

_"You scared me!" I gasped, clutching my chest with one hand as I rolled my eyes at him._

_"So I do scare ya." He mumbled into my ear as he crawled into the sleeping bag with me, without removing his jeans. _

_"You're sleeping in them?" I asked, snuggling down into his chest, running my fingers along the waistband of the denim. _

_"Yep. What? Ya disappointed?" He smirked and kissed my forehead gently, wrapping one arm around my waist as he curled his other arm under his head. _

_"Maybe a little." I whined softly against his collar bone." I loved the way he felt against me. His skin was always warm and inviting and even though he didn't always smell… good. I enjoyed his individual aroma. _

_I would go home smelling like Daryl after being at his house for a couple nights and I loved it. He had asked me to come over tonight, with intentions of sleeping inside, I agreed. Little did I know, I was going to be sleeping in a tent. _

_"Daryl." I whispered. He grunted softly and tightened his grip around my waist. I snuggled closer to him. "Thanks for giving me a chance." I whispered softly. He didn't say anything, but I knew he heard me. He pulled me closer to him and rested his chin on the top of my head._

I opened my eyes and saw Aunt J sitting up in her bed, a nurse handing her a little plastic cup and a tiny pill. I sat up and pulled the earphones from my ears and pushed the footrest down.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, leaning forward. The nurse nodded and looked over her shoulder at me.

"Just givin' her an anti-nausea pill so she can eat dinner tonight. Visiting hours ended fifteen minutes ago though, sweetheart." The nurse explained. I nodded and stood up, walking around the bed to Aunt J' left side and kissed her cheek.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Love you." I blew her a kiss as I grabbed my bag that sat on the table beside my chair.

* * *

"Okay, open'em." Daryl said, letting go of my hand after leading me into the garage. My bike sat there, brand new gas tank and everything. I walked towards it and covered my mouth with my hands when I saw the Black Widow outline on the new tank. I was devastated about losing that. My dad hand painted that spider on the gas tank when he bought the bike.

I ran my finger along the neat wielding job that held the old piece of the gas tank that had the spider on it, to the new gas tank. Daryl had painted the new gas tank jet black. I loved it. I walked around the bike and looked at Daryl, who had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Thank you so much." I whispered. I couldn't help but want to cry. Daryl was amazing and I was seeing that more and more each time him and I were together.

"Ain't nothin'." He grunted, taking a step towards the bike. "Got somethin' t'show ya though." He gestured with his index finger to come around to his side and knelt down on his knees.

I walked around the bike and knelt down beside him. He pointed towards the front of the gas tank and nodded for me to look.

I gasped softly when I saw the little white ribbon painted on against the black. I hadn't even noticed it until he pointed it out. I covered my mouth with my hand again and blinked back tears. With my free hand I traced the ribbon with my finger. It wasn't just plain white, it had this pearly sheen to it, just like the bracelet around my wrist.

"Daryl." I looked over at him. He gave me a nod and chewed at the inside of his lip. I stood up and watched as he followed my movements, standing with me. I rushed towards him and flung my arms around his neck. "You're amazing." I whispered into his ear, pushing myself up onto my tippy toes.

He didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around my back and held me close to him, kissing the side of my head softly.

"Come to Atlanta with me." I murmured against his ear.

Daryl Backed away quickly and cocked his head at me. "What?" He asked quickly. I laughed at his reaction.

"I'm serious. Come to Atlanta with me when…" My voice trailed off. He nodded, understanding what I was trying to say. "You can get a job at a decent bike shop. Daryl, you could be making decent money just doing what you enjoy." I explained.

He looked at me seriously for a long time. It was making me a little uncomfortable. "Why?" He asked after I started shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "Why should I go?"

"Because. What's keeping you here?" I asked. "You could come to Atlanta and still be close enough to go hunting whenever you wanted. You could… live with me and stuff." I kicked at the cement floor of the garage and looked up at him through my eyelashes. "S'big house. Gets kinda lonely." I nodded. Daryl smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"I could come back if I don' like it, right?" He asked, taking a step towards me. I nodded and smirked at him. "'Kay." He teased, grabbing me my the belt loop of my jeans and pulling me against him. I yelped and laughed as my body slammed into his.

* * *

Daryl's POV

I could already tell Merle was home before I even got in the house. There was loud, 80's rock blasting from the living room and I could hear it through the closed front door of the house. I shook my head and thought of just going to Kristina's. She'd be home by now. Merle didn't even have to know I had been here.

The door swung open and Merle stumbled out onto the front porch, right past me and into the yard.

"Baby brother, where th'fuck you been?" He slurred. He was already drunk, I could smell the Budweiser on him and wrinkled my nose.

"Work." I growled, pulling the door open and walking inside.

The place had been trashed. He had torn everything Kristina had put away out of it's place and threw it on the floor. The cabinet which once held all of Merles drugs was now laying on the floor, one of the wooden doors torn off and thrown across the room.

"Dude, what th'fuck!" I exclaimed, rushing back outside where Merle was peeing in the yard, stumbling from side to side. I shoved his shoulders angrily and watched as the beer bottle flew out of his hand and landed at the ground near my feet.

Merle stumbled backwards and then regained his balance. "I gotta bone t'pick wit' you baby bro," He sneered, taking a couple of steps towards me. "I dun looked high and low in MY house and I can't seem t'find my shit." He growled, moving his face only inches from mine.

"S'gone, Merle." I growled back. Merle's eyes went wide and I could see the anger inside him growing.

"Baby brother, you better tell me where my shit is. Or I'm gon' kick yer fuckin' teeth in!" He shouted. His hands shoved both my shoulders back and I almost fell but quickly caught myself and charged him, shoving him onto the ground.

"I said it's fuckin' gone!" I shouted at him. "Yer actin' like a fuckin' junkie." I growled lowly, making my way back towards the house.

I heard the scuffle of Merle trying to get to his feet. He charged into the house behind me and grabbed my shoulder, turning me around and slamming me against the wall. He pressed his forearm against my throat and pointed his index finger in my face.

"Th'fuck did'ya call me?" He sneered, his face only inches from mine. "Junkie? I like t'party, but I ain't no two-bit fuckin' crack head." His voice was low and deep and sent shivers down my spine. He sounded so much like our father, it scared me. "And I remember y'liked t'party wit' me, what happened?" He took a step back, pulling his arm away from my neck.

"I changed." I growled, pushing myself off the wall and rubbing my neck with my hand gently.

"Ya cleaned up the house, got rid of all my drugs an' now yer some clean, prissy bitch?" He asked condescendingly.

"I didn't touch yer shit." I growled at him angrily.

"Then who th'fuck did?" Merle shouted at me.

"My fuckin' girlfriend." I spat in frustration. I didn't know why I called her that, but it felt right. Merle gawked at me and then started laughing.

"I been gone a year and ya went an' got whipped by some fuckin' female?!" Merle snorted through a fit of laughter. "Ya always were kinda soft, baby bro." He called out as I started walking away.

I stormed off towards my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I grabbed the duffle bag that sat on the floor in the corner of the room and began filling it with clothes. I was going to go to Kristina's. I knew this wasn't going to be a good idea. I should have just gone there in the first place. I wasn't sure I could handle Merle when I was sober. At least not yet.

When my duffle bag was all packed, I opened the door to my bedroom and turned into the bathroom and stopped dead in my tracks.

Merle was bent over the sink, doing a line of something off the sink counter. My heart began racing and all I could think of was the rush Merle was going to have in a couple seconds. How his blood would start to race through his body and I suddenly became very jealous.

I looked around the bathroom and noticed the toilet tank lid had been removed and there was duct tape still stuck to the inside of the tank. The bag of what I realized to be crystal sat on the sink counter.

"Th'fuck you doing, Merle?" I asked, shaking my head. Merle inhaled deeply and looked up at me, holding out the straw he had used to do his own line.

"Y'know ya want some." He nodded his head towards the untouched line of crushed up crystal meth.

I took the straw and looked at it, rolling it between my fingers slowly, moving my eyes from the straw to the line of drugs waiting for me. Just sitting there. I took a step forward and placed one end of the straw in my nostril and leaned down, next to the counter.

I closed my eyes, preparing myself for what was about to happen. I exhaled through the straw and blew the line of meth everywhere. Before Merle could react, I had the faucet on and knocked the baggie of drugs into the sink, under the running water.

* * *

Kristina's POV

Keeping busy when Daryl wasn't around was hard. I bustled about the house trying to clean and organize everything. This was such a nice house, and seeing it all torn apart and garbage laying around made me feel so alone. So I cleaned. I cleaned and cooked.

I opened the fridge and Tupper wear containers stacked on top of each other lined the shelves. I grabbed a beer and twisted off the cap. As I was chugging the first half, a small knock on the front door made me stop.

Looking around and set the beer on the counter, making my way slowly to the door. Who could it be so late? It was already half past midnight and I didn't know anyone in this town anymore. My heart sank as I thought of Aunt J, but they would have called, not made a house visit.

I slowly turned the knob of the door and pulled it open.

"Daryl?" I asked, peering through the screen door into the darkness. His figure stood there, shoulders slumped forward, a hoodie covering his eyes as he pulled the door opened and let himself in.

"Mind if I stay here t'night?" He asked quietly, I nodded and followed him as he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. I eyed him curiously as he kept the hood of his sweatshirt up, hiding his face in shadows.

"Everything okay?" I asked, watching him as he leaned back against the couch and nodded, still not taking the hood down.

"Merle's jus' bein' a pain in my ass." He growled. I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. There was something he wasn't telling me, I could feel it.

"That all?" I asked, taking a step towards him. He nodded and kicked his boots off. I felt my eye twitch a little as they lay on the floor, mud and god knows what else covered the worn, leather of his work boots. I walked over to them and picked them up, walking back towards the front door and placing them neatly against the wall.

When I turned around, Daryl was laying on the couch, facing the other way. He had finally pulled his hood down but now faced away from me. I frowned and looked up stairs towards my bedroom and internally swore at Daryl.

Sleeping next to him was one of the best feelings. His warm body pressed up against mine. We fit perfectly together and we both knew it.

"Daryl, are you sure you're okay?" I asked, walking towards the couch and kneeling down beside it. He nodded as I began to run my hand over his back and he gently pulled away from me, pressing his body further into the back of the couch.

"I'm fine." He growled. I pulled my hand away from him and sighed loudly.

"You wanna go upstairs?" I asked. He shook his head no and didn't say anything. I was starting to get frustrated. I just wanted him to look at me and he was completely avoiding it. "Are you high?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

I didn't actually think he was high, but I knew I would get a reaction out of him and boy did I.

Daryl sat up and glared at me through his one good eye. The other eye was black and blue and swollen shut.

"Daryl! Did Merle do that!?" I exclaimed, cupping his face in my hands. He winced as I ran my fingers along the bruise that covered the left side of his jaw. "I'm gonna fucking kill him." I hissed under my breath, wiping the dry blood from underneath Daryl's lip.

"It ain't nothin'." He pulled his face out of my hands and furrowed his brow. "Quit touchin' me, wouldya?" He barked. I dropped my hands to my sides and shook my head.

"Just another reason you gotta get out of here, babe." I nodded. I pushed myself to my feet and made my way into the kitchen. From the cabinet above the sink I grabbed a bottle of peroxide and a clean bandage. I also grabbed a tissue off the counter and made my way back into the kitchen.

"C'mon, I jus' wanna go to sleep." Daryl protested as I began to clean up his face. It had blood smeared all over his chin and under his nose and he had a small cut on his upper right cheek.

"Shut up and I can get this done and over with and we can go to bed." I shushed him, cleaning the cut with the peroxide. He hissed and swatted my hand away gently. "Oh c'mon now. It doesn't hurt that bad!" I exclaimed, leaning forward, pressing my body against his knees.

"Cut it out!" Daryl grabbed my wrist gently and pushed it down to my side, letting go of it once it was at my hip. I crawled up into his lap and grabbed him by the back of the head and leaned into his chest, pressing my body hard against his.

"Shut up and let me clean this." I growled, giving him a stern look. He gripped my waist tightly, pushing his nails deep into the exposed flesh of my waist. I ran the cloth across the cut on his cheek and he winced, grumbling something along the lines of 'fuckin' bitch' under his breath.

Once I was done cleaning the wound, I unwrapped the bandage and placed it neatly over the cut. "That wasn't so fuckin' hard now, was it?" I teased, kissing the tip of his nose gently. Daryl shook his head and pushed my hips back.

"Get off of me." He grumbled, laying back down on the couch and rolling over so he was turned away from me.

"You don't wanna come sleep upstairs with me?" I asked.

"No." He grunted, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. I shook my head and turned all the lights off in the living room and made my way upstairs, shutting the door behind me.

I tossed and turned, half expecting Daryl to come up and sleep with me but he never did. I rolled around in bed and all I could think about was Daryl's beat up face. It made my blood boil that Merle could do that to him. I wonder what happened.

I couldn't sleep. I could barely close my eyes without seeing Daryl's face. Finally, after about an hour of not being able to get to sleep, I rolled out of bed and slipped into something comfortable. A pair of black sweats and a t-shirt and slowly crept downstairs.

"Sonofabitch is gon' get a piece of my mind." I hissed under my breath. "Ain't gonna get away with treatin' _my_ man like that, nuh uh." I added, slipping my feet into my boots.

I pulled on a gray sweatshirt and grabbed the keys off the table next to the door and opened it quietly, peering at Daryl over my shoulder as I slowly opened the screen door and stepped outside.

* * *

The sun wasn't even up yet, but the sky was starting to grow lighter by the time I arrived at Daryl's house. Once I turned my bike off, the sound of gunshots filling the air made me frown.

"Crazy sonofabitch better fuckin' have his gun ready." I hissed, kicking the stand to my bike down. When I was angry, southern-not-so-belle came out in me. I was a redneck waiting for a fight. I stormed right through the front door and saw what Merle had done to all the hard work I had put into cleaning up this house.

It made me even more angry. Outside, another gunshot rang through the air and made me jump. I wasn't expecting it. I also wasn't expecting Daryl's truck to pull up outside next to my bike.

Quickly, I made my way outside and saw Merle standing a couple yards away from the house, pointing his gun off towards the woods.

"I got a problem with you, fucker." I yelled at him from where I stood next to the back door. Merle spun around and looked at me, a giant smirk on his face. He had one of the Budweiser's I had bought for Daryl in his hand, and there were about ten more empty cans laying at his feet.

"Oh, you must be little Darylina's keepr!" He cheered sarcastically. He took a long pull from the beer can and dropped it at his feet. "Dang, couldn't even find a female worth lookin' at either." he growled, taking a step towards me.

"Oh, like you're a sight for fuckin' sore eyes." I spat, crossing my arms over my chest. Merle laughed and grabbed an unopened beer from the case he had brought outside. I shook my head and smirked a little.

The door behind me opened and I could sense Daryl's presence behind me.

"That beer ain't for you." I hollered, taking a step towards Merle. Daryl's hands were on my shoulders in seconds and pulled me behind him. I shook my head and pushed him out of the way. I wasn't scared of Merle. Let's see that man put his hands on me. I'd have him in jail again so fast his head would spin.

"This beer was in MY house, so that makes it MY beer." Merle sneered.

"Did you pay for it? Oh wait… you've been in prison!" I shouted loudly, quickly making my way towards him. Merle took a step towards me and that's when Daryl moved between us, trying to capture me between his arms while behind his back.

"Better keep yer bitch in line, Baby Bro, or she's gon' end up lookin' like you." Merle growled, looking at me over Daryl's shoulders. I fumed and pulled myself free of Daryl's grasp and moved around him, stepping towards Merle, getting up on my tippy toes so I was close to his face.

"Put yer hands on me. I fuckin' dare you." I hissed evilly.

Merle's eyes went wide and he took a step back, gripping the barrel of his shotgun so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Yer gon' regret that, bitch." He pulled the butt of his riffle back and glared at me before bringing it forward.

I jumped back and felt the butt of his rifle connect with my shoulder roughly and I stumbled backwards, the loud 'pop' of my shoulder dislocating filled my ears.

I dropped to my knees and gasped for air as the electrifying pain ran down the length of my arm. The limb went numb and it hung at my side like a dead fish. I couldn't seem to breath, and my head was spinning. This was unlike any pain I had ever felt before and I could barely stand it.

I kept my eyes open long enough to see Daryl rush towards Merle, his fist connecting with his cheek and a deafening 'thud' made me wince slightly. Merle was dizzy, you could tell by the way he was stumbling around, trying to regain his balance from the unexpected punch.

"Fuck you, Merle. I'm leavin'." Daryl shouted, grabbing me by my good hand and tried to pull me to my feet. I whimpered and tried to stand up, cradling my arm carefully so it wouldn't move and make the pain worse.

"Th'fuck ya think yer going, Daryl!?" Merle shouted, throwing a beer can at us. I angrily grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it back in Merle's direction with my good arm and watched as it hit his shin and he bounced around, cursing loudly.

"I'm goin' t'Atlanta. Fer good!" Daryl shouted back, keeping his eyes forward. "Get in th'truck an' lock the door." Daryl whispered to me as we reached his pick up.

"No! That fucker needs to be taught a lesson!" I fought as Daryl tried to push me into the cab of the truck. I was so full of anger. I finally was forced into the truck and looked around as Daryl began moving a 2x4 to the tailgate of the truck so we could move my bike into the bed of his truck and transport it easily.

The gleam of a pistol on Daryl's seat caught my eye and I thought for a minute. I should run out there and scare the shit out of Merle. Hold the gun to his face and make him shit his fucking pants for what he did to Daryl and me.

I grabbed the gun and unlocked the door quietly, waiting until Daryl was turned around, his back to me before I opened it and made a run for the backyard. I had the gun in my hand, on a mission to make his older brother feel like a coward.

But I didn't get very far.

"Th'fuck ya think yer doin'!?" Daryl shouted as he began chasing me. I could hear his footsteps right behind me and then his hands on my waist. He tackled me to the ground and I felt my shoulder pop back into place. I groaned loudly and went limp in Daryl's arms.

He picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. As we made our way back to the truck, I saw Merle appear out of the backyard, his rifle in one hand, and a beer in the other.

I flicked him the bird. "You got what you deserved, Fuckface! Now, when ya want someone to blame, you're gonna have to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Baby bro isn't gonna be around anymore." I shouted to him as Daryl tossed me into the cab of the truck for the second time that morning.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Okay, last chapter. Then the NEXT STORY. YEAH I SAID IT, NEXT. STORY. It's called Ever After, and Idk when I'll be posting the first chapter but keep an eye out for it. I'll try and aim for this weekend, hopefully! I hope you all enjoy reading, and keep reviewing! I'm feeding off of them. It's fueling me to write more. So, enjoy!**_

* * *

I sat in Aunt J's room. Her skin no longer radiated warmth. Her chest no longer moved. She wasn't breathing. I could barely keep myself together as I sat on the side of her bed with her hand in mine.

She had passed sometime during the night. She had asked the doctors to remove her heart monitor. It was keeping her awake at night. She said that if she was going to go, she wanted to go peacefully. And she didn't want to try and be revived.

The TV in her room was on. I had turned it on for background noise while I cried. I sounded so pathetic sobbing the way I did. There was plenty of time for me to come and accept the fact that she wasn't going to make it, but I couldn't help but feel like I had played a part of her dying.

Aunt J had taken care of me like I was one of her own. She made sure that I had a good childhood when I had the time, and what did I do for her in return? Nothing.

Too little, too late, they say. Although, I still feel like I should have done more.

"…victims say that they started feeling feverish and 'unlike themselves' after being bit by what they say were humans. Doctors say that the reports of these hallucinations are normal when a fever is so high. Reports indicate that this is happening all over the world, the latest reports coming in all the way from China. Although, while the reports may seem a little silly, officials say that we should all be on the look out for rabid animals."

This story had been on the news for a week. Daryl and I watched it at least fifteen times yesterday. I couldn't wait for this shit to be over. I was so tired of hearing about hallucinating people.

I stroked the back of Aunt J's hand with my thumb and watched her as I rest my head on the side of her hospital bed. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. I smiled softly, knowing that she was done dealing with pain. She was in a better place. I had to keep telling myself that.

My father dying had hit me hard. I couldn't tell you why because he wasn't a very good parent, to say the least but he was my dad. He had never laid a hand on me or my mother. He was a very loving person, but the drugs just made him lazy and forgetful.

When my mom died in prison a couple years ago, I wasn't that broken up about it. We had all seen it coming. The only time she had been clean was when she was pregnant with me. That was the longest period of time she had been off of drugs since she was fifteen. She wasn't as caring and loving as my father, but she also had bi-polar syndrome and it kept my father and I walking on eggshells, especially when she was going through withdrawal.

Aunt J's death didn't seem fair to me. It didn't seem normal. My father died of a drug over dose and my mother, a heart attack. Those were fair. Those made sense. This? This death wasn't right. Never smoked a day in her life. Clean as a whistle. Healthy as an ox.

How does someone just up and get pneumonia and then have it slowly become lung cancer?

Unjust.

I closed my eyes. Resting them and my pounding headache from crying so hard most of the afternoon. Daryl had stopped by to bring me lunch, which he said he'd do this morning. He felt bad about what Merle had done to my shoulder and my arm had been in a sling for most of this week, so Daryl was trying to make it up to me, even though he didn't do anything wrong.

I opened my eyes and sat up. It was already six and I needed to go home and try to get some rest. As I was about to stand up, I stopped. I thought I heard something. It sounded almost like a gurgling coming from Aunt J. I looked over at her. My eyes went wide when I saw her move.

"Aunt J-j-Judy-Mae?" I asked softly, reaching out touching her arm with my finger tips. She was still cold as ice.

She sat up and looked over at me, the gurgling from her throat growing louder and louder.

This couldn't be real. She was dead. How was she moving!? I had to be dreaming. This was a nightmare.

Aunt J snapped her teeth at me and curled her upper lip back, exposing her top teeth to me. Her free hand found my wrist and she grabbed it with surprising strength.

"Fuck!" I shouted, as Aunt J tried to pull my wrist to her hand and take a hungry bite from my forearm.

I jumped back, pulling my wrist from her hand and pushing the black, leather recliner back across the tiles with my feet. Aunt J leaned over the bed and fell out with a loud thud. I watched as the woman who could barely walk less than 5 weeks ago, slowly push herself to her feet and start walking towards me slowly, still snapping at me with her teeth.

I grabbed my bag that lay on the table beside the chair and ran out of the room.

The hospital was tiny. Only one floor, one small cafeteria beside the check in counter that sat in front of the doors.

I ran past the check in counter and outside towards my bike. I couldn't believe that really happened. I wanted to get out of here. The thought of Aunt J snapping at me like that brought tears to my eyes again as I swung a leg over the Harley and pushed the key in the ignition.

"Daryl!" I shouted, pushing the heavy wooden door of Aunt J's house open. "Daryl, I need you!" I hollered as I made my way into the living room. Daryl was standing in front of the couch, looking at me with concerned eyes as I made my way over to him.

"Aunt J…" I whispered, touching his chest softly. "Aunt J tried to b-b-bite me." I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "She was dead and then she wasn't and then she tried to bite me and she was walking and…" I trialed off the sobs got louder.

"What?" Daryl asked, wrapping his arms around me as I pressed my face into my hands. "She tried to… bite you?" He sounded as if she didn't believe me.

"I know! It doesn't sound real!" I exclaimed, pushing myself out of his grasp. "I think I'm going crazy." I whispered, holding my elbow in the palm of one hand, resting my forehead in the palm of that hand, pacing back and forth quickly.

Daryl eyed me suspiciously, his eyes looking me up and down as I paced before him. "Did'ya get bit by a raccoon'er somethin'?" He asked, "Ya sound like one'a them people on the news, say they got bit by a person." He chuckled softly.

"This isn't funny!" I exclaimed. "My dead aunt just tried attacking me and you're making jokes!" I couldn't help but get upset. I knew he didn't mean any harm but I was upset and he was the only one around. Daryl gave me sympathetic eyes and shook his head.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"We should start packing." I exclaimed, ignoring his apology. "We need to be ready incase they start evacuating! They started doing it in other towns, Daryl." I gave him serious eyes and put my hands on my hips.

"We ain't goin' anywhere. Safest place t'be is in the mountains." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into him. "Yer gon' be just fine wit' me." He added, resting his chin on the top of my head.

We stood there in silence for a long moment, listening to the news reporters voice on the TV. I wasn't really listening to what she was saying. I was just so happy here in the arms of this man. He had come so far from the first time we had met.

"I'm real sorry 'bout yer aunt." He whispered softly. I nodded against his chest. "C'mon, make me somethin' t'eat." He teased, swatting at my butt playfully as he pushed his hips against mine.

"Real nice, babe, real nice." I teased back with a sarcastic tone. He smiled at me and gave me a seductive wink.

I made my way into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, pulling out a couple of the Tupperware containers.

"We have meatloaf, chicken and potatoes, roast beef and corn bread." I smirked at him as he entered the kitchen. Daryl leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You cooked all that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded and smirked at him.

"Impressed?" I teased, he nodded at me and strolled towards the counter casually. "Daryl, I'm real nervous about what happened with Aunt J." I whispered as he rested his forearms on the cool countertop. Daryl shook his head and sighed softly.

"There ain't nothin' t'worry 'bout, I told ya that." He reassured me, I could tell he was getting a little annoyed with me but he wasn't at the hospital, he didn't see Aunt J. "There really ain't nothin' ya could do, honestly."

I was clinging to every word he said. I looked for him for support right now, and he was doing a good job at making me feel like things were going to be okay.

"C'mon, pack some of this up, were gon' take it t'Merle." He sighed, pushing himself from the counter and standing up straight. I gawked at him, shaking my head slowly.

"I'm not taking anything to him! Especially not after what he did my shoulder!" I exclaimed. "He can starve for all I care." I huffed, grabbing one of the Tupperware containers in my hand and clutching it to my chest, turning my back to Daryl.

"Now if somethin' does happen, an' we need weapons, where ya gon' wanna be?" Daryl asked. I could hear the smugness in his voice. "Here, or at the cabin?" I sighed loudly and set the container of food on the counter and waved my hand at Daryl, back still turned.

"Whatever." I growled, grabbing a cigarette from my pack on the counter. "We gon' stay there?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Daryl as I light my cigarette. He nodded and stacked the containers of food on top of each other.

"Yeah, s'pack yer shit." He winked at me as I inhaled slowly.

"Fine." I hissed softly. "But if Merle starts anything, I'm not gonna be quiet about it." I added as I walked past him into the hallway that lead to the living room.

As I packed my things I looked around the guest bedroom and inhaled deeply. It smelled like my childhood. The smell of clean sheets, lemon grass and wood polish. I have some of the best memories in this house… in this very room, and I may never be back.

I shoved all my clothes into my backpack, and zipped it up. I set the bag on the floor and walked around to the side of the bed and pulled off the comforter and dropped it to the floor. Underneath the comforter, a soft yellow blanket covered the bed. I pulled the corners from underneath the bed carefully and slowly began pulling it off the bed. I folded it up neatly and set it on the corner of the bed.

Pulling open the closet door I pulled the string that dangled in front of my face and squinted as the harsh light from the bulb blinded me momentarily. I looked around and found a medium sized duffle bag laying on the floor. I grumbled at the hot pink material and shook my head, unzipping it and placing the folded blanket inside.

Upstairs there was a bathroom and I went in there and grabbed all the necessities, shampoo, soap, conditioner, feminine products. I carried armful after armful from the bathroom into the bedroom, slowly filling up the duffle bag.

I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, looking back on the bedroom one last time before closing the door.

I made my way downstairs and watched as Daryl eyed me curiously, setting my bags down at his feet, keeping eye contact with him as I walked down the hall and into Aunt J's room. I closed the door behind me and turned the light on.

I felt weird being in here. As children, we weren't allowed in here. I felt like at any minute, Aunt J would be running down the hall, yelling at me for being in here. But she wouldn't. I walked over to the dresser that sat along the far wall. I ran my fingers along the dark, hard wood of the dresser drawers and looked down at all the beautiful jewelry that she owned.

My eyes fell on my most favorite necklace. A long silver chain with a silver angel wing pendant. She had worn this all the time when I was younger, and I always loved it.

I put the chain over my head and pulled my hair from under the chain.

"Take long enough?" Daryl growled as I stepped out of Aunt J's room. I closed the door behind me and made a face at him, grabbing the keys to my bike off the table.

"Shut up." I grumbled, semi-seriously. I didn't want to go to Daryl's cabin. I didn't want to stay here, I just wanted to go to Atlanta and feel safe.

I also didn't want to see Merle again. I didn't like the way he treated… well anyone who wasn't Merle.

"C'mon, follow me on yer bike." Daryl growled as he grabbed me by the waist with one hand, scooping all of the bags on the floor in front of him with the other. I giggled softly as he moved his fingers against the ticklish spot on my side, his digits gently digging into my soft skin.

"Stop!" I whimpered as he continued his assault on my sides, dropping the bags on the ground as we made our way down the cement path that lead to the driveway. He stopped and grabbed me playfully, pulling me into his body as he moved his hands further up my sides to under my arms and I let out a small squeal as the laughter took over.

"Daryl!" I whined quietly, leaning against him, pushing my shoulder into his chest, trying to make him stop tickling me. He was panting quietly from fighting with me and tickling me to the point where I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to have an accident.

"What?" He purred quietly in my ear, his arms were wrapped around me from behind, his hands underneath my white t-shirt, tickling my soft skin.

"Stop." I said breathlessly, his fingers slowing down as they started to softly stroke my skin. My back was pressed hard against his chest and I could feel his heart beating behind his ribs. His body moved against mine as he gently started dragging me down to the ground, his knees dropping on the soft, green grass of the front yard.

I couldn't help but fall to my knees with him, his body was strategically placed behind mine as I dropped to my elbows instinctively, arching my ass in the air as I felt his hands grope my ass cheeks from behind with both hands, purring softly as I felt him sit up straight as press his throbbing erection against my ass.

"That didn't take long." I snickered, grinding myself into him gently, letting out a small purr as he rolled his hips against mine. My head was spinning. This is what sex was supposed to feel like. My body worked perfectly with his as he moved his hands along my hips, moving them up my sides.

Sliding his finger underneath the material of my t-shirt, pushing it up my body, bunching it over my breasts, right under my chin.

"Roll over." He growled, "On yer back, Lil' girl." He ordered. I nodded and obeyed, rolling onto my back, looking up into Daryl's icy blue eyes.

His eyes scanned my body, starting at my face and then slowly moving down, biting his lip when his eyes rested on my exposed chest. He hooked his fingers in each cup of my bra and pulled them down, my breasts spilling out at the lack of support.

His rough, calloused thumb scraped over my nipple, hardening it with his touch. I groaned softly, arching my back against his hands, which where now traveling down my stomach.

"Spread'em." He kicked my legs open with his knees, and crawled between them, hovering over me, smirking as he leaned over and kissed me hard on the mouth. His hips pushed into mine roughly, rolling and rocking them against my aching womanhood. I groaned into his mouth as he cupped my face in his hands, rocking his hips harder and harder into mine until I was panting just from his movements.

"That didn't take long." He growled in my ear as his fingers swiftly found the button to my jeans and snapped it open. Roughly, he grabbed the waist of the denim, ripping it down my thighs.

"Oh!" I gasped, the feeling of grass on my body sending shivers down my spine as he tossed my jeans further into the front yard. I looked around and suddenly realized what we were doing and where we were doing it. I didn't care. I wanted him. I wanted him so badly at this very second and I didn't care who saw.

Daryl's fingers hooked into the red lace of my panties and pulled them down my legs, gentler this time than he had been with my jeans but still with the same hurriedness. I watched, purring and running my hands along his chest and stomach as he sat back on his feet and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it behind him as I scraped my nails roughly down his stomach. I enjoyed the groan he let out when I did that.

He leaned over me as I scooted further underneath him, my nimble fingers carefully popping each button of his button fly jeans open.

"Don't care who see, huh?" He growled in my ear as I pushed my hands into his boxers and wrapped my fingers around his throbbing hard-on. "Just gon' let me take ya out here in the front yard, Lil' Slut?" He hissed. I groaned and nodded against his chest as I pulled his cock free from his boxers and placed it at the entrance of my slippery entrance.

I was so ready for him. My body ached for him but he still liked teasing me. Daryl's fingers found my hair and he clutched my body close to his as he thrust upwards into me. I couldn't help the loud moan that escaped my lips.

The echo of my moan filled the air and I heard it bouncing from tree to tree as Daryl pushed himself further and further into me. "Oh my g-g-g-god!" I whimpered loudly in his ear, digging my nails into his biceps, dragging them down his arm gently. "Faster." I whined, pushing my hips up against his.

Daryl's hand moved from my hair to my throat in an instant and he firmly wrapped his hand around my windpipe. "Faster, what?" He growled, slowing down the movements of his hips, until he was moving them at a lazy, tantalizing pace.

"Faster, p-please." I whimpered, my body twisting and turning underneath him as he pushed himself all the way into me, my pelvic bone pressed hard against his and he slowly moved his hips in a circular motion, the head of his cock scraping every inch of my cunt.

"That's a good Lil' Whore." He whispered into my ear as he pulled his hips away from mine and began thrusting forward into mine harder and faster than before. He groaned loudly as the walls of my womanhood tightened around his shaft.

"Make me cum." I purred, looking up at him as I wrapped my hands around the wrist of his hand that was still wrapped around my throat. I batted my eyelashes and he gazed down at me as he piston in and out of me furiously.

"Ya don't cum 'till I say." He growled into my ear, panting heavily as the ball inside me started to grow and I could feel the orgasm building inside of me.

"Please." I whispered breathlessly digging my nails into his wrist, clenching my teeth together roughly. The sound of our skin slapping together echoed in my ears as he tightened his grip on my throat.

"Don't cum." He ordered, sitting up so our body connected only at our hips. I pushed my hips up further, meeting his rough bucking forward into me.

"Fuck me like you mean it." I hissed. He growled, leaning over and biting down hard on my shoulder. I groaned and arched my body against his, and he dug his fingers into my sides, pushing my body down on his thrusts, hard and firm. "Fuck me like you aren't a little bitch." I growled angrily, wanting him to fuck me harder, my body so close to release, but of course, I couldn't let Daryl have all the fun.

"Oh yer gon' be limpin' fer a week." I heard him say under his breath as he pulled out of me for just a second as he flipped me onto my stomach, grabbing me by the waist as he pushed himself back inside me roughly.

"That's it. Fuck me like the little slut I am." I moaned loudly, clenching my walls around his shaft tightly. I heard him groan softly and his fingers dug harder into my flesh. I moaned loudly and felt my legs began to shake.

"Ask nicely." Daryl sneered from behind me, feeling my body on the verge of cumming. I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly, biting my lip to keep myself from cumming right there.

"Please, Daryl, can I cum?" I whimpered, my voice shaking as the orgasm started to wash through me. I moaned loudly and gripped handfuls of grass tightly, pushing my hips upwards as Daryl pounded into me.

"Cum, Lil' Whore." He ordered but I was already there. I moaned loudly, gasping and panting as the air was stolen from my lungs each time Daryl thrust forward. My fingers curled around clumps of grass and I tore them from the ground, moaning loudly as he continued to move inside of me. I could feel him ready to cum but he was holding off as long as possible. He groaned loudly, "Fuck…" He was panting also as he leaned over my weak and sore body.

* * *

"I got grass stains on my jeans." I giggled as Daryl jumped out of the pickup truck. He smirked as he walked over to me, where I was still sitting on my bike. I didn't want to go inside. I didn't want to see Merle but I guess I had to get over it some time, if the world was coming to an end, I was going to be stuck with him.

"C'mon, let's go inside." Daryl nuzzled the side of my head with his nose and gripped the inside of my knee gently. "I know you don' wanna, but we gotta let Merle know what's goin' on." He whispered softly into my ear. He was doing a really good job of calming my nerves.

I got off my bike and grabbed Daryl's hand as we made our way towards the house. "He better keep his mouth shut. Or I'll put him in his place." I growled defensively as we climbed the steps up to the front porch. The front porch was up on supports and was about ten feet in the air. The back yard was a hill that led up into the woods behind the house.

I loved the old, rustic look of Daryl's cabin. It would have been a nice place to have a family. Come here during the summer when the kids were out of school.

Daryl pulled open the screen door and motioned for me to wait out on the porch. I crossed my arms over my chest and went to sit on the stairs. I lit a cigarette and listened carefully to what was going on inside.

Daryl's POV

"Hey." I mumbled softly. Merle was standing in the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge for something to eat. He looked up at me and smirked, standing up straight and leaning on the refrigerator door.

"Welcome home, baby bro." He sneered, looking over my shoulder, and then frowning gently. "Where's yer little bitch?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans. I looked down and noticed I, too had grass stains on the knees of the denim.

"I didn't come here t'fight," I started, I leaned back against the wall and looked at Merle carefully. He wasn't high. He had probably gone through the rest of his stash and was going through some serious withdrawal. "Somethin' has happened, people are gettin' sick." I watched as Merle shut the door of the fridge and lean against the counter.

"What?" He asked curiously. I sighed, really not sure how to explain what happening.

"There is some kind of virus an' it's spreadin' fast." I pushed myself off the wall and looked out the front door, watching Kristina from behind as she sat on the steps, smoking a cigarette. "It's hit towns all 'round here, an' Kristina think's they're gon' evacuate." I looked back at Merle and shrugged my shoulders.

"So what? Yer here fer all yer guns an' shit?" Merle asked, shaking his head. I shook my head back at him and pulled my hands from my pockets.

"No, I want ya t'come with us if we gotta leave." I explained. I tried to be careful with my words so not to make him angry. Little things set Merle off, so I had to walk on eggshells.

"Oh really?" Merle asked, sounding rather amused by the situation. "What happened t'the little girl that was gon' take care of ya?" He snickered, pushing himself from the counter and walking towards me. He circled me slowly and I stood there, inhaling quietly through my nose as Merle moved around me.

"She's still 'round." I nodded, watching as Merle moved from the side to in front of me. "She's gon' try an' get along with ya." I lied. I knew Kristina didn't like Merle, and I knew she was going to have a problem with him if he continued to treat me the way he had been.

"I don't like her." Merle growled, narrowing his eyes on mine.

"I know." I snapped back. "You've made that very clear."

"She's gon' act like yer bitch than fine, but don' think that she ain't gon' get it fer havin' an attitude." He growled. "Yer a man, fight yer own fuckin' battles." Merle wrinkled his nose at me and slowly backed away. "I'll be gettin' our shit t'gether." He explained, nodding at me as he turned into the gun room.

I sighed loudly and ran my hands through my hair, turning on my heels and making my way out to the front porch.

When Kristina heard me, she turned around and stood up, giving me a concerned look. I held my hands up and gave her a stern look back. I didn't want to hear what she had to say. I needed to talk to her, I needed to tell her what I needed from her to make things work.

"Merle doesn't like you. I know you don' like Merle, but fer th'sake of keepin' me sane, could'ya try and just… not egg him on?" I asked her, making sure my eyes stayed locked on hers. I wanted her to know how serious I was. Merle was unstable, he had always been a hot head and with age and lack of supervision as a child it only got worse.

"I'll try if he-" She started but I cut her off and sucked my teeth at her.

"No, you gotta be the one who tries." I barked at her. She jumped softly and looked up at me, her big blue eyes sent me into a hypnotic state and I could barely remember what we were talking about. I watched as she bit her bottom lip and started to chew on it gently. She did this when she was anxious, I remember watching her fall into the habit when she talked about her aunt.

"Fine." She whispered, breaking eye contact with me finally. I inhaled, realizing I had been holding my breath. I watched as she pushed past me and made her way into the cabin. Running a finger through my hair I sat down on one of the two chairs that sat outside, looking over our driveway and the main road that lead into town.

The thoughts of having a life with Kristina scared me, but what was happening around us, scared me more. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her, I wanted to keep her safe and get through this. Part of me thought I needed to prove myself to her, prove how strong I could be for her. The other part of me said that I was wasting my time and she was going to get bored with me eventually, or not be able to handle of the shit that follows me wherever I go.

Lighting a cigarette, I sat back and closed my eyes, puffing gently on the cigarette dangling between my lips while visions of Kristina ran through my head.

_"Stop!" She whispered in my ear as we made our way up the stairs to the guest bedroom of her aunts house. "I hate when you do that!" She exclaimed, gritting her teeth together as I poked my index fingers into her side once again. She flinched and pulled her elbows into her sides and grumbled something along the lines of "dickhead"._

_I chuckled and licked my lips, watching her shapely legs as they climbed the stairs in front of me. She had on a knee length white dress, her curly hair showering down her back as she glared back at me. _

_I stopped and looked up at her, she climbed the rest of the stairs, stopping and turning around to look down at me, hands on her hips. The light from the bathroom directly in front of the stairs, shone behind her and it illuminated her silhouette. _

_She looked like an angel. My heart raced in my chest as she looked down at me with her big, blue eyes and time stopped. Crawling the steps slowly, I locked eyes with hers and swiftly made my way up the rest of the stairs, wrapping my arms around her waist quickly, chuckling as she flinched again in my arms, expecting me to prod at her again._

_"You're a dick." She whispered as I walked her backwards, into the guest bedroom. I closed the door with my heel and knelt my head down, catching her lips with mine. Kristina sighed loudly through her nose and wrapped her arms around my neck. _

That's the first time that I knew I loved her. When she was standing at the top of those stairs, all lit up and beautiful the way she was. Of course, I never said anything, I never felt comfortable enough to say that to her. I didn't know how she'd react, or if I'd scare her away, so I just kept my mouth shut.

The sun was starting to go down, and I flicked my cigarette into the yard and made my way into the house. It was too quiet. Something wasn't right. I expected to walk into a war zone but instead, silence. There was the rhythmic sound of Merle cleaning and adjusting his weapons and packing them away.

Kristina would be in my room, doing something to keep busy while I had been outside. I knew that she didn't want to have to bite her tongue around Merle, but if she had too, she was just going to avoid him all together.

I walked past the gun room slowly, poking my head in and seeing Merle sitting at the large wooden table, all of our artillery laid out for cleaning and fine tuning if needed.

"Lil' girlyfriend is in yer room," Merle started, pulling the barrel back on a small, black pistol. "I said hello to her." He added, checking the receiver of the gun. I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to hold back a smirk.

"Did she say hello back?" I asked softly, watching as Merle let the barrel go and it snapped back into place. He nodded and set the gun down on the table.

"Tell'er t'get her ass out here an cook us somethin' t'eat." He exclaimed, "I'm so hungry I'd eat the balls off a low flyin' duck!" He hollered. I shook my head and pushed myself off the door frame and made my way down the hall, towards my bedroom.

Turning the door knob I opened the door slowly and looked inside. Kristina was making my bed. She had pulled off the old sheets and was putting on the new ones she had bought for my bed. I watched as she bent over and tucked the edges in under the mattress.

"I heard what he said, I'll start cooking in a minute." She sighed, not looking back at me. I smirked and shook my head, walking up behind her.

I wrapped my arms around her and snaked my hands down her forearms, making her drop the sheet in her hands. Pressing my lips against her ear I groaned softly and smirked as she sighed softly, lacing her fingers with mine as she turned around in my arms, wrapping them around her shoulders. She let go of my fingers and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"What? Am I your maid?" She asked quietly. I could hear the seriousness behind the sarcasm and I shook my head.

"Nah, y'just cook better than us." I teased, kissing her forehead softly. She chuckled and ran her fingers through the back of my hair.

"Fine, but he better say thank you." She growled softly. I kissed her forehead again and sighed as she pulled away from me.

* * *

Kristina's POV

Sweat had started to form on my hairline, I wiped it away with the back of my hand as I opened the stove with the other, I checked on the bread baking inside and shut the door again, sighing as I wiped my flower covered palms on the towel I had slung over my shoulder.

The two men were still sitting at the table, eating as if they haven't ever eaten before. I chuckled and walked up behind Daryl, running my fingers up his back and over his shoulders, massaging them gently with my nimble fingers.

"No ones gonna take it from you." I laughed. I felt Daryl's shoulders move as he chuckled along with me, and grabbed my hand with his free hand and squeezed softly.

"In prison they do!" Merle exclaimed, "An' they'll fight'ya fer it." He added, nodding his head. "Food ain't half as good as this, either." He went back to shoveling food into his mouth and I took what he said as a compliment. A weird, twisted compliment.

"What's in th'stove?" Daryl asked through a mouthful of food. I squeezed his shoulder gently.

"It's called tea cake." I nodded and went back to the oven, opening the door just slightly to peek in. The top was just starting to turn golden brown and I shut the door again. Only a couple more minutes and then I could take it out.

"Tea cake?" Merle asked, leaning one elbow on the table, turning to look at me dead on. I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. "Th'fuck is that?" He asked, sounding confused.

"It's like pound cake, but sweeter." I explained, thinking of the best way to put it. "I noticed you didn't go through all the fruit, so I thought I'd make us up something sweet for dessert." I smirked, checking the time on the stove.

"Tea cake…" Merle repeated, shaking his head and then turning back to face the rest of his meal. I sighed, finally opening the stove completely and carefully pulling the pan out and setting it on the counter. I tossed the towel back over my shoulder and turned the stove off.

"I'm going to bed." I yawned, kissing Daryl on the side of the head as I walked by him. He grabbed my wrist and stopped me, yanking me back towards him gently.

"You didn't eat." He growled, narrowing his eyes at me seriously. I shook my head and pulled my wrist from his grasp.

"I'm not hungry." I said truthfully. I really had no appetite at all, not since the hospital this morning. I gave him a reassuring nod and he dropped his hands at his sides.

"Can we eat that tea cake now?" Merle asked, setting his fork and knife on the empty plate in front of him. I nodded and smiled down at Daryl, walking backwards towards his bedroom.

"I'll be in soon." Daryl grumbled, pushing his chair away from the table and stood up as I rounded the corner to the hallway that lead to his room.

* * *

"Move over." The sound of his voice filled my ears as I sleepily opened my eyes.

"Huh?" I asked through a yawn. I felt his hands underneath me and lift me gently into his arms. He crawled on his knees closer towards the center of the bed and gently set me down. Curling up with the blanket on his bed, I turned and faced the wall, my back towards Daryl.

His body pressed into mine and his body heat radiated into me. I snuggled down into the blankets as Daryl wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me closer to him, resting his chin on the top of my head gently.

"Night." He whispered. I grunted, my eyelids unable to stay open as sleep washed over me for the second time that night.

* * *

Daryl's POV

It had been two days since we came to the cabin. Merle and Kristina had been somewhat civil to each other, except for when he walked in on her getting out of the shower. The house shook when those two screamed, I tell ya.

Kristina and I found an old radio in the basement and we turned it on, listening for any reports of evacuations or any updates on the virus that had been spreading.

Kristina, Merle and myself all gathered around the table in the dining room, Kristina's arms were tucked under her chin as she watched the radio intently, almost like she was waiting for it to move. Merle leaned on the table, arms crossed over his chest as he scratched under his jaw gently, I couldn't sit still. I don't know how these two did it, but my leg bounced up and down in anxiousness as the voice on the radio grew more and more urgent sounding.

"… Please, if you're listening or watching, come to Atlanta. There are service shelters who can assist those who have been wounded. There is food and fresh water, beds and blankets for those in need. All we ask is you bring donations, canned food, toiletries, clothing… anything that can be spared, please bring it. We are in desperate need. More and more people are flocking in by the day…"

Kristina looked over at me nervously. I could see it in her eyes. She looked like she was about to cry but I knew she wasn't. Merle pushed himself off the table and grabbed the duffle bag that had been laying, already open on the floor next to the table.

"Baby Bro, get my bike all put up in th'back of yer pickup, wouldya?" He asked me quietly. I nodded and stood up, grabbing the keys off the counter and heading out back where his bike and my truck had been parked.

* * *

Kristina's POV

Merle looked at me as I stood up and grabbed the other duffle bag that sat on the floor next to my chair. "C'mon, we ain't got no time to stare." I growled, placing knife after knife into the bag. All carefully covered by a black, canvas holster. Merle chuckled and shook his head as he started to toss the guns into the bag.

"Now that we alone, I gotta say somethin'," Merle started, I stopped loading in all the knifes and looked up at him curiously. "…the most important thing t'me out there is my brother. Understand that? Not you, not yer well being. Him. Him and me." He pointed out the bay window and then at his chest. I smirked and started placing the knives into the bag.

"We got somethin' in common then." I nodded at him, zipping the bag up when I could no longer fit anything else into it. Merle grumbled and looked around at all the left over ammo. Daryl and him had already packed two full duffle bags into the back of the truck. One with guns and the other bullets. And of course Daryl had his crossbow on him at all times.

He had a couple laying around the house, scattered in all different rooms. He played with them when he was bored, fined tuned them, made sure they were all in tip top shape.

"Go out front, I'll meet ya." Merle croaked out at me. I picked up the bag of knives and made my way out to the front yard, blindly running down the flight of stairs that lead to the front yard.

I set the bag down and sighed, arching my shoulder from the weight of carrying it. I patted my jeans pocket for my cigarettes and grabbed the pack, and pulling a cigarette from within. The sound of Merle opening the door made me look around and that's when I saw them.

"Oh…" I whispered as the first creature reached for me, his teeth snapping at me just the way Aunt J had in the hospital. I jumped back, just missing his swipe at me, but I bumped into something behind me. I turned and saw another one of them, teeth snapping and the loud, gurgling hiss that escaped their throats filled my ears.

I screamed loudly and reached up, trying to push the thing's face back, far away from mine but a set of hands wrapped around my forearm and suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through my arm.

* * *

Daryl's POV

The scream filled the air and my head spun around so fast I thought it was gonna fall off. I didn't even bother securing the ropes on Merle's bike before darting towards the backdoor which lead into the house. The scream had come from the front and it was faster to go through the house.

Before I could even reach the back door, Merle came barreling through it. He looked like he was out of breath and his eyes were wide. I watched as he shifted the weight of his bag on his shoulder, eyeing me nervously for a second. I waited for Kristina to come running through the door but she never did.

"Kristina?" I exclaimed, feeling my heart starting to race when he furrowed his brow. "No…" Her screams pierced the air again. My heart sank and I looked at Merle franticly. I didn't know what to do, I stood there, on the verge of tearing my hair out. Merle marched forward, grabbing my shoulders but his touch sent me into a frenzy and I turned my shoulder and sent it flying into his chest as I attempted to push him out of the way.

"Those things, on the radio, they got her, man. She's gone!" He shouted in my ear. I pushed forward, using the ground as leverage to push my shoulder into Merle's chest harder. I needed to get to her. I needed to save her. She couldn't be gone. Not _my_ Kristina. Not the angel that stood at the top of the stairs.

I let out a loud grunt as I pushed harder, forcing Merle backwards towards the back door. "Let it go. I saw them tear her apart, Baby Bro." He whispered this time but it just fueled my rage and I pushed Merle back a good five steps before he finally pushed his hands hard into my chest and I stumbled backwards.

Then it went black.

_She sat on top of me, her creamy, white thighs were warm on my stomach as she crawled towards me and kissed my lips. _

_"Mine." She whispered, trailing her lips gently over mine, then down my jaw and across my neck. I smirked and waited for her lips to return, loving the feeling of her body on mine like this. Her lips grazed the other side of my jaw and then back to my lips._

_"Mine." I breathed against her mouth, running my fingers along the side of her face. _

Throbbing. Aching pain. I opened my eyes and had to shield my eyes from the bright light of the rising sun. I looked over at Merle driving. He looked over at me but didn't say anything. I looked at the empty spot next to mine and almost lost it.

I sat up and rubbed the back of my head, my fingers grazing a large bump. I must have knocked myself out because I don't remember getting in the truck.

She was gone. The one thing in my life that had any meaning, and it was ripped away from me. After everything I did to make sure she stayed around, I got clean, and stayed clean. For her. And now she wasn't here anymore.

I crossed my arms over my chest, sinking back into the seat of the truck and looked out the window. I didn't know where we were but we couldn't get where we were going fast enough.


End file.
